Disclaimer: This is purely fiction but based on the WB series 7th Heaven.
The WB and Spelling Television, unless you don't recognize them, own all
characters.
Complicated Chapter 5 - Discovery -----
Five minutes after Robbie arrived home from his date with Kristen, he picked up the phone and dialed the number to the café. "Midnight Café, this is Haley," Haley answered the phone.
"Haley, this is Robbie. We met earlier today."
"Yeah, the cutie with Kristen. She got off work at three."
"I know. Look, I forgot to ask her for a phone number, so that I could call her. You don't by any chance have it do you?" It was true. He hadn't asked her for a phone number. He had just planned on getting her address.
"She doesn't actually have a phone herself, but she does have a number you can reach her at, I think. She shares it with a few other people, I guess. Let me look for it." He could hear her flipping some pages. "Here it is. It's 555-1234."
"Thanks, Haley."
"No prob. She seems pretty taken with you," Haley added, piquing Robbie's interest.
"Really?"
"Yeah. You were all she could talk about today. You couldn't wipe that smile off her face when she spoke your name," she winked into the phone. "I've never see Kristen fall this hard over a guy before."
By the time he hung the phone up, Robbie was grinning from ear to ear. He started to dial the number Haley had just given him, but something stopped him. He knew he had to talk to someone first.
-----
Eric was sitting at his desk in his home office drumming his fingers on the desktop when he heard a knock on the door. "Come in!" he called out.
"Rev. Camden," Robbie walked into the minister's office.
"Robbie, how did your date go?" Eric perked up.
"I'm not sure. It went well, I think," he told him as he sat down in the chair in front of the desk.
"You think? Don't you like her?"
"I love her. . .I mean, it's just that she seemed, well, sort of like she's hiding something from me."
"What gives you that idea?"
"She won't talk about herself, and she just keeps avoiding telling me where she lives."
"Well, she did just meet you yesterday. Maybe she's just uncomfortable telling you some things about herself yet."
"No. That's not it. She and I really connected yesterday. There's something there. I know there is."
"Do you have her phone number?"
"Yes."
"She told her phone number then?"
"Well, no," Robbie looked uncomfortable.
"How did you get her phone number if she didn't give it to you?"
"I called the café and got from one of her coworkers," he pulled the paper out of his pocket that he had wrote the number on and set it down in front of Eric. "Look, I'm not proud of the way I got it, but it's just this suspicion that I have. Besides, technically, I didn't ask her for her phone number; she may have told me that."
"Do you really think she would have?" Eric took the paper and looked at the phone number carefully.
"No," Robbie admitted truthfully.
"I think your right."
"Huh?"
"I know this number." Eric pulled his Rolodex out of the desk drawer and started thumbing through it. He stopped, compared numbers, and turned it around so that Robbie could see his discovery. "Maybe that's why she didn't tell you."
Robbie's eyes got big. "The Glen Oak Community Homeless Shelter?" Robbie became speechless.
"That doesn't necessarily mean anything. Maybe she doesn't live there. Maybe she just helps out there a lot or something."
"Or maybe she does live there."
"Maybe," Eric said softly. "There's only one way to find out." He took a pen and wrote down the address. He handed the paper back to Robbie. "Go talk to her."
-----
Robbie pulled the car up to the homeless shelter and parked. He looked over and spotted the red Geo that Kristen had been driving. "Here goes nothing," he told himself. He got out and went inside, heading toward the front desk.
"May I help you?" the older woman behind the desk asked him.
"I'm looking for a Kristen Parker."
"Kristen. Yes!" the woman smiled. "Sweet young lady. Everybody here loves her. She's up the stairs. First door to the right," she pointed toward the stairs.
"Thank you, ma'am."
"You're welcome, dear," she turned back toward what she was working on.
Robbie ascended the stairs, but took in his surrounding as he went. It was a nice place; one of the best around the Rev. Camden had told him. He turned and knocked on the first door to the right as the reception lady had said.
Then seconds later the door opened; Kristen stood there in complete shock. "Hi," Robbie said softly.
Kristen was speechless; the last thing she expected was to see Robbie standing there in her doorway. She stepped back and motioned for Robbie to come in.
"Nice place," he looked around the small room that Kristen called home.
"It's cozy," she got right to the point. "What are you doing here?" she asked with only curiosity in her voice.
"I didn't get the chance to ask for your phone number, so I called the café, and they gave it to me. Then I had to talk to Rev. Camden because you were confusing me."
"How so?"
"You were hiding something from me, and I knew it. I showed him the phone number, and he recognized it. He works a lot with people that live in shelter's you know," he looked straight at her. "Why? Why didn't you just tell me? I would have understood."
"That's what they all say."
"They who?"
"All the other guys I would go out with. Then I would tell them that I live here, and they would never speak to me again. It's as if it's contagious or something," she sat down next to him. "Problem was that I didn't want to take a chance with you; I," she paused. "I think I fell in love with you, and I didn't want to lose you," she ended softly.
Robbie put his arm around her. "Why are you here?" he asked.
"I moved here when I was 14 to live with my Dad. When I was 16, he up and left me - homeless and alone. He'd left me some money. Not a lot but some. I wasn't about to go to foster care, I'd heard only horror stories, but I knew my mother would have wanted me to finish high school. I was living on the streets for a few months, but I had managed to still go to school at the same time. Finally, the owner of this place found me on the street. I lied and told her I was 18 because I didn't want to be sent to live with anybody. I wanted to make it on my own," she paused a minute. "I have, kind of."
"I thought I told you why I'm living with the Camdens. I thought I told you that I used to live on the street myself."
"You did. That's what made things so complicated. I thought maybe you would understand; but I didn't know for sure, and I didn't want to take a chance."
"Of course I understand. I'm proud of you for what you've been able to do. You're not still on the street, you have a roof over your head, you have a job. It's a start. Not everybody is as lucky as I am to have a family as great as the Camden's to just take them in. I try not to take that for granted."
"Don't. Don't take it for granted. I would have loved to have met a family as wonderful as the Camden's."
"It wasn't love at first sight," he chuckled. "It took them a little while to get used to having me around the house."
"But they did," she looked away and then looked back at Robbie and sighed. "You really do understand, don't you?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "May I ask you something, Krissy?" A strange look came over Kristen's face. "What? What did I say?"
She smiled. "There was only one person in my life who had ever called me Krissy?"
"Who?"
"My mother."
"Do you mind?"
"From you? Not at all. I would love it if you called me Krissy," she told him as she reached up to brush a stray hair from his eyes.
He smiled at her. "Krissy, will you promise me that you'll just talk to me and not keep hiding things from me? Trust me that I'll understand?"
"Yes! I will. I promise," she said as she pulled his lips down to hers to seal that promise forever.
THE END
Complicated Chapter 5 - Discovery -----
Five minutes after Robbie arrived home from his date with Kristen, he picked up the phone and dialed the number to the café. "Midnight Café, this is Haley," Haley answered the phone.
"Haley, this is Robbie. We met earlier today."
"Yeah, the cutie with Kristen. She got off work at three."
"I know. Look, I forgot to ask her for a phone number, so that I could call her. You don't by any chance have it do you?" It was true. He hadn't asked her for a phone number. He had just planned on getting her address.
"She doesn't actually have a phone herself, but she does have a number you can reach her at, I think. She shares it with a few other people, I guess. Let me look for it." He could hear her flipping some pages. "Here it is. It's 555-1234."
"Thanks, Haley."
"No prob. She seems pretty taken with you," Haley added, piquing Robbie's interest.
"Really?"
"Yeah. You were all she could talk about today. You couldn't wipe that smile off her face when she spoke your name," she winked into the phone. "I've never see Kristen fall this hard over a guy before."
By the time he hung the phone up, Robbie was grinning from ear to ear. He started to dial the number Haley had just given him, but something stopped him. He knew he had to talk to someone first.
-----
Eric was sitting at his desk in his home office drumming his fingers on the desktop when he heard a knock on the door. "Come in!" he called out.
"Rev. Camden," Robbie walked into the minister's office.
"Robbie, how did your date go?" Eric perked up.
"I'm not sure. It went well, I think," he told him as he sat down in the chair in front of the desk.
"You think? Don't you like her?"
"I love her. . .I mean, it's just that she seemed, well, sort of like she's hiding something from me."
"What gives you that idea?"
"She won't talk about herself, and she just keeps avoiding telling me where she lives."
"Well, she did just meet you yesterday. Maybe she's just uncomfortable telling you some things about herself yet."
"No. That's not it. She and I really connected yesterday. There's something there. I know there is."
"Do you have her phone number?"
"Yes."
"She told her phone number then?"
"Well, no," Robbie looked uncomfortable.
"How did you get her phone number if she didn't give it to you?"
"I called the café and got from one of her coworkers," he pulled the paper out of his pocket that he had wrote the number on and set it down in front of Eric. "Look, I'm not proud of the way I got it, but it's just this suspicion that I have. Besides, technically, I didn't ask her for her phone number; she may have told me that."
"Do you really think she would have?" Eric took the paper and looked at the phone number carefully.
"No," Robbie admitted truthfully.
"I think your right."
"Huh?"
"I know this number." Eric pulled his Rolodex out of the desk drawer and started thumbing through it. He stopped, compared numbers, and turned it around so that Robbie could see his discovery. "Maybe that's why she didn't tell you."
Robbie's eyes got big. "The Glen Oak Community Homeless Shelter?" Robbie became speechless.
"That doesn't necessarily mean anything. Maybe she doesn't live there. Maybe she just helps out there a lot or something."
"Or maybe she does live there."
"Maybe," Eric said softly. "There's only one way to find out." He took a pen and wrote down the address. He handed the paper back to Robbie. "Go talk to her."
-----
Robbie pulled the car up to the homeless shelter and parked. He looked over and spotted the red Geo that Kristen had been driving. "Here goes nothing," he told himself. He got out and went inside, heading toward the front desk.
"May I help you?" the older woman behind the desk asked him.
"I'm looking for a Kristen Parker."
"Kristen. Yes!" the woman smiled. "Sweet young lady. Everybody here loves her. She's up the stairs. First door to the right," she pointed toward the stairs.
"Thank you, ma'am."
"You're welcome, dear," she turned back toward what she was working on.
Robbie ascended the stairs, but took in his surrounding as he went. It was a nice place; one of the best around the Rev. Camden had told him. He turned and knocked on the first door to the right as the reception lady had said.
Then seconds later the door opened; Kristen stood there in complete shock. "Hi," Robbie said softly.
Kristen was speechless; the last thing she expected was to see Robbie standing there in her doorway. She stepped back and motioned for Robbie to come in.
"Nice place," he looked around the small room that Kristen called home.
"It's cozy," she got right to the point. "What are you doing here?" she asked with only curiosity in her voice.
"I didn't get the chance to ask for your phone number, so I called the café, and they gave it to me. Then I had to talk to Rev. Camden because you were confusing me."
"How so?"
"You were hiding something from me, and I knew it. I showed him the phone number, and he recognized it. He works a lot with people that live in shelter's you know," he looked straight at her. "Why? Why didn't you just tell me? I would have understood."
"That's what they all say."
"They who?"
"All the other guys I would go out with. Then I would tell them that I live here, and they would never speak to me again. It's as if it's contagious or something," she sat down next to him. "Problem was that I didn't want to take a chance with you; I," she paused. "I think I fell in love with you, and I didn't want to lose you," she ended softly.
Robbie put his arm around her. "Why are you here?" he asked.
"I moved here when I was 14 to live with my Dad. When I was 16, he up and left me - homeless and alone. He'd left me some money. Not a lot but some. I wasn't about to go to foster care, I'd heard only horror stories, but I knew my mother would have wanted me to finish high school. I was living on the streets for a few months, but I had managed to still go to school at the same time. Finally, the owner of this place found me on the street. I lied and told her I was 18 because I didn't want to be sent to live with anybody. I wanted to make it on my own," she paused a minute. "I have, kind of."
"I thought I told you why I'm living with the Camdens. I thought I told you that I used to live on the street myself."
"You did. That's what made things so complicated. I thought maybe you would understand; but I didn't know for sure, and I didn't want to take a chance."
"Of course I understand. I'm proud of you for what you've been able to do. You're not still on the street, you have a roof over your head, you have a job. It's a start. Not everybody is as lucky as I am to have a family as great as the Camden's to just take them in. I try not to take that for granted."
"Don't. Don't take it for granted. I would have loved to have met a family as wonderful as the Camden's."
"It wasn't love at first sight," he chuckled. "It took them a little while to get used to having me around the house."
"But they did," she looked away and then looked back at Robbie and sighed. "You really do understand, don't you?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "May I ask you something, Krissy?" A strange look came over Kristen's face. "What? What did I say?"
She smiled. "There was only one person in my life who had ever called me Krissy?"
"Who?"
"My mother."
"Do you mind?"
"From you? Not at all. I would love it if you called me Krissy," she told him as she reached up to brush a stray hair from his eyes.
He smiled at her. "Krissy, will you promise me that you'll just talk to me and not keep hiding things from me? Trust me that I'll understand?"
"Yes! I will. I promise," she said as she pulled his lips down to hers to seal that promise forever.
THE END