Seasons To Remember
Chapter 3: The Road Back Together
"Where was this taken?" Jared wondered, finding an unusual shot of a monument surrounded by stairs and fountains. A statue of a soldier was visible, though the writing on the limestone wall was illegible in the photo. In the background loomed tall buildings, giving the impression that the construct was in the midst of a city.
"That's the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Indianapolis, Indiana," Tommy explained. "Uncle John and I did a little sightseeing there when we went to the Brickyard 400 for the first time in August 1999."
"That's a two-year gap in pictures, Dad," Trini observed, noting the absence of the types of photos they'd been treated to thus far. Where were the family shots? The friends?
"I know. Neither your mom nor I took many for a while. The gang was pretty dispersed at that time, and she and I were on the road a lot, so there was no reason for snapping anything other than touristy-type pics. The family stuff Kim organized in separate, event-specific books which I didn't bring."
"Touristy-type is right," Rachel observed. "We've glaringly similar pictures labeled Dayton, Lowes, et cetera ... Thus far, all your photographs of the various cities you raced in have been of the tracks themselves. Rarely do you have any photographic remembrances of the cities themselves. Why this particular one?"
"My father collected photos of the various war memorials around the country," Tommy replied. "Originally, I had taken this for him." He paused, unsure how to continue and glanced at Kat. This photo was connected to some great memories for him and Kim, but not so great for him and Kat.
Kat observed his indecision and decided to help him out. Actually, it was a touching gesture. Tommy had his own romantic streak; it had been one of the things that had impressed her when she first saw him and Kimberly together.
"The monument had added significance for Tommy because it was the place where he met up with Kimberly again for the first time in two years ..." she revealed.
"... and though I didn't realize it at the time, it was the place where Kim and I started on the path to getting back together ...."
~*~
"There," Tommy declared as he snapped the picture of the memorial at the heart of the Circle City.
"That'll make a nice addition to your father's collection," his Uncle John remarked.
"I'm just surprised that, with all his traveling, Dad hasn't been here before," Tommy said.
"It's my first trip to Indy as well," John Rush reminded his nephew and back-up driver.
"You mean you never came to see the Indy 500?" Tommy asked. He was enjoying their day off. They didn't usually have a lot of time to sight-see when they had a car in a race, but his dad's request must have given John a justifiable excuse to take it easy for a couple of hours.
And it was a perfect day for kicking back. For early August, the temperature was hot but not sweltering. There was a slight breeze, and there was nary a cloud in the clear blue sky.
"I always wanted to," John continued, calling back Tommy's wayward thoughts, "but I was usually at some other race ... Well, hello, is that a familiar face I see?"
"Huh? Who? Where?" Tommy sputtered, looking about.
"Over there on the right, sitting on the edge of the fountain," John pointed out. "Isn't that the gal you dated when you first moved to Angel Grove – Kimberly, wasn't it?"
Tommy's head snapped around sharply, and his eyes followed the line of his uncle's outstretched arm. Sitting on the edge of the fountain's retaining wall was a petite brunette with caramel-colored hair. Her face was tilted skyward, her eyes closed. She looked for all the world as if she was drinking in the delicious sunlight. A smile of pure enjoyment lit her face ... and Tommy felt as if someone had kicked him in the chest, forcing the air from his lungs.
He'd know that smile anywhere, and it was very disconcerting to realize that it still had the power to affect him so.
She was as beautiful as ever and looked happier than when he had seen her last. Of course, at the time she'd been Divatox's prisoner and then unwitting puppet, but even after the spell had been broken and she and Jason were home safe, there had still been shadows in her eyes – shadows of unhappiness. She had barely spoken to him that entire weekend. The avoidance had hurt; it was as if her heart had so totally changed towards him that she couldn't stand the sight of him.
After she had returned to Florida, he'd asked Jason about her behavior. His best friend's words offered little comfort. "I don't know what's wrong, but something's bothering Kim big time. Something's hurt her bad ..."
Rather uncharitably, he'd mused that her new boyfriend must have dumped her.
Regardless of whatever had caused her pain then, she was happy now.
"Howdy, Stranger," Tommy's uncle called out before Tommy could decide if he even wanted to say 'hi' or not.
"Ohmigod! Tommy! Mr. Rush! Is that really you?" Her face glowed with the pleasure of seeing two familiar faces, her smile positively brilliant.
Even from a distance, Tommy felt that grin make his knees buckle.
Kim jumped up and raced over to where they stood. Tommy found himself grinning as she moved with all the exuberance of old. She hurried up to him and flung her arms around him in a joyous hug. She was obviously pleased to see him.
He hugged her back, a rush of memories overwhelming his senses at the feel of her in his arms again. Nothing had felt so wonderful in a long, long time.
"What are you doing here?" they blurted out simultaneously. Then they both burst into easy laughter.
"You first," she said.
"Uncle John and I here to race in the Brickyard," he answered. "And you?"
"An exhibition at the Convention Center," she replied breathlessly. "How long are you in town?"
"We're here through the weekend. You?"
"I fly out tonight," she answered, her smile dimming somewhat. "I wish I had more time so we could do some catching up."
"Do you have time now?"
Had he sounded too eager or merely polite – or somewhere in between?
"Darn it, no. In fact, I really have to be returning to the Convention Center now," she answered, pouting as he remembered oh-so-well.
"Gosh, it was so good to see you , Tommy," she murmured. For a moment, she looked uncertain, then her expression seemed to say 'what the hey," and she hugged him again. "'Bye, Tommy."
"'Bye, Kim."
~*~
"... and don't think my reaction to how good it felt to hold Kim again didn't bother me afterwards," Tommy hastened to say before any of the kids could pounce on that point. "It did. After all, Kat and I were still a couple even though we'd drifted apart."
"But you guys barely spoke; how did your meeting set you back on the road to getting together?" Jasmine asked.
"When we walked away from each other that day, I knew Kim and I were still friends," he said. "That was something I hadn't been too sure about before."
"So when did you find out the reason Aunt Kim broke up with you?" Ramon questioned.
"It was another chance meeting that year. It was near Christmas ...."
~*~
It was funny how things had a way of working out, Tommy mused as he passed through the familiar doorway of the Youth Center. Ownership had changed hands several times since he'd spent his high school afternoons here, but now Ernie was back in charge.
"I missed the kids," the portly proprietor would answer whenever asked why he'd come back.
Tommy had missed this place since he had graduated. It had been such a huge part of his life in Angel Grove; he had been sorry to see the changes.
I've spent some of the best times of my life here, he sighed, indulging in happy memories. Now he was back to help out with the annual holiday program for the children's home. He never could tell Ernie no – none of them could, and since Justin had been a resident of Little Angels, Tommy had a soft spot for the shelter.
He was about to head to the back office to see what the big-hearted owner wanted him to do when he spotted her.
Kimberly was wandering aimlessly about the facility, looking for all the world like she was taking the same trip down memory lane that he had. Her eyes were misty and her smile wistful. She was over by the gymnastics equipment, lightly running her hand over the old balance beam.
"Hi, Kim," he called out before he lost his nerve. There was still so much unresolved between the two of them, but while he wasn't sure he was ready for that particular conversation, he knew that seeing her twice in less than six months after not seeing her for over two years had to mean something.
Kim turned, the familiar voice cutting straight to her heart. It was Tommy standing in the doorway and, of all things, waving to get her attention.
She'd been shaken by their August meeting. She hadn't meant to be so – enthusiastic in greeting him. She hadn't meant to let her heart lead her .... She'd just been so surprised and pleased ....
What he must have thought of me! Acting like a lovesick teenager when he still has a girlfriend!
Still, nothing had felt so right as being held in his arms for the first time in three years.
"Tommy!"
This time, she didn't run and hug him; she seemed more reserved, but when she stood in front of him, she rose up on her tiptoes and pecked him on the cheek.
"Mistletoe," she said, a slightly embarrassed flush staining her cheeks as she pointed to something above Tommy's head. She knew she probably shouldn't have, but she couldn't resist.
He raised his eyes and noted the sprig of greenery directly over his head.
"Merry Christmas," he murmured, returning the favor, just barely cutting off his old nickname for her.
"I'm so glad to see you," she responded, doing her best not to be bouncing with joy at seeing him again.
"Same here; we really didn't get a chance to catch up in Indianapolis."
"I know. I couldn't believe you've become a race car driver," she remarked as they moved out of the doorway. Instinctively, they drifted over to what had once been the gang's table.
"No more surprised than me," he agreed. "I thought all I ever wanted to do was open my own dojo."
"And you don't any more?"
To Tommy, it sounded as if she was disappointed or something.
"I still want to – more than anything," he assured her, "but Uncle John needed help, and it turns out I'm really good at driving ...."
"After some of the machines you piloted, you should be," Kim interjected with a knowing smile.
Tommy couldn't argue with that. "If Uncle John only knew where I honed my 'exceptional reflexes' … I figure I'll do this for a while; the money's pretty good. Since I'm on the road so much, I'm still living at home – so I don't have a lot of expenses. I'm saving all I can for my dojo and for classes at the business college."
"It sounds like you have things all planned out," Kim noted, wishing her own future was so certain.
Well, not quite, he observed privately; he wasn't quite sure how Kat figured into these plans. "What about you? Back in Indy, you said you were there for some sort of competition – or exhibition. Are you still competing?"
"No, I'm too old to be really competitive any more," she laughed, but the humor faded, leaving behind a shadow of pain. It still hurt, even after all this time. "Actually, I had to retire not long after the Pan Globals."
"Had to ... Kim, what happened?" Tommy asked, unnerved by what he saw in her eyes. It was the same shadow he'd noticed at the karate tournament so long ago.
"I fell off the beam again, only this time my head injury was more severe," she sighed softly, fighting to keep the hurt and disappointment out of her voice.
With someone who hadn't known her as well as Tommy, she might have been successful, but he knew. He could practically feel her pain.
"The doctor pretty much told me that he wanted me to stop gymnastics after that. Another fall might cause permanent damage. It was a risk I didn't want to take."
"I'm sorry, Kim," Tommy murmured, reaching out his hand to cover hers. Her fists were so tightly clenched that her knuckles were white. He knew he'd be devastated if he could never do martial arts ever again; he could only imagine what Kim was going through. He gave her hand a supportive squeeze.
Kim gave him a tearful smile. It felt so good to tell someone at last. If only she could have confided in him at the time ....
"Now, I'm glad to be away from the grind of competition, but back then .... I'd done so well at the Pan Globals, Coach thought I had a shot at the Olympics."
It was obvious to Tommy that giving up her dream still hurt.
"After I 'retired', I came home to recuperate and figure out what I wanted to do. That's what I was doing in Angel Grove when Divatox nabbed me and Jason."
She paused to take a sip of her drink, but she stopped in mid-motion. She hadn't ordered a smoothie. Neither had Tommy, but there was one in front of him, too. As one, the pair looked to the counter. Ernie flashed them a smile and a salute.
Good ol' Ernie!
"Anyway ...." Kim continued, taking a deep breath, "when I went back to Florida – mainly to collect my stuff – I still hadn't come to a decision. I really didn't want to stay in Florida. I sort of wanted to come back to Angel Grove and go to college, but I couldn't – not then at any rate."
Coming back would have been like admitting failure to her family ... her friends .... And she had honestly felt there was nothing for her to come back to. What sort of welcome would her friends have given her after what she'd done to Tommy?"
"Mom was wanting me to come live with her in Paris, but I really didn't want to do that either. I hadn't wanted to go to Paris in the first place, and if it hadn't been for Paris ...."
Even now, the thought of Paris could bring her to the point of tears.
Tommy had come to hate Paris, too; for the longest time, he'd viewed that as the beginning of the end of his relationship with Kim.
"Coach, however, made me an offer," she went on with her tale. "He said I had a good eye for gymnastic talent, so he asked me to be his scout and travel around visiting gymnastic clubs and high school meets – like he'd been doing when he 'discovered' me – so that he could spend more time in the gym with the athletes. Since I had no other options at the time and I wouldn't just be cooped up in the gym, it seemed like an okay solution ...."
"But now ...?" Tommy prompted, noting the weighty sigh.
"I'm tired of being on the road all the time ...." she said.
He could relate to that!
"... and I really have nothing in Florida. I almost have enough saved to rent an apartment here ... maybe even start school. I'd have a bit of a cushion while I looked for a job. It'd be rough going to school and working full time, but I think I could handle it."
"Is that what brings you back home now? Apartment and job hunting?" he wondered.
"Sort of. The Stone Canyon Gymnastic Club asked if I'd be a guest at their holiday meet, and I thought I'd visit Kenny before going to visit Mom."
Tommy had forgotten her brother still lived in Angel Grove.
"What about you?" Kim asked him, glad to know that they could still talk... that they were still friends.
"I'm off until the seasons starts. Practices begin the end of January, the races in February."
"Isn't the Daytona 500 the first big race of the season?"
Tommy was startled by her obvious knowledge.
"You can't live in Florida without hearing about it ad nauseam," she answered his unspoken question with a small laugh, though she wondered that it would surprise him that she knew anything about racing. Upon learning of his new career, she'd done her best to keep tabs on him. It was the sort of thing a friend would do.
"It is," he confirmed.
"Do you think you'll ever drive in a race that big – you are in NASCAR, right?"
"Right." He found himself impressed that she even knew that there was more than one racing league. But to answer her questions, "I hope to, someday, but first I need to get some smaller races under my belt."
A lull hit their conversation as they wrapped up current events. After several minutes of idly sipping their drinks, Kim steeled herself to broach a topic she really didn't want to touch, but had to. She had to let him go and hearing about him and his girlfriend would be the best way to do it. She ventured, "So, how's Kat?"
"Kat?" Tommy gulped, taken aback by the unexpected question.
"You know, your girlfriend," Kim said with a teasing laugh.
"Oh," he mumbled, feeling like five kinds of a fool. Really, there was no reason for him to be so flustered; it's not like he'd done anything wrong or had anything to hide. "I didn't realize you knew I was dating Kat."
"I figured it out when I saw you guys last," Kim revealed. "That hug she gave you after the tournament was a pretty good indication, plus the way you danced with her at the victory celebration clued me in, too." She paused thoughtfully. "I'm not surprised you guys wound up together. I kind of thought Kat might've had a crush on you when I left Angel Grove."
"Ah," he grunted noncommittally.
"So, where is Kat? What's she up to these days?" Kim prompted.
"She's in London."
"London? England?" Kim gasped. When had that happened?
"I guess you hadn't heard. She auditioned for and was accepted to a ballet academy in London. She started there the fall after we graduated," he elaborated.
"Wow! That is so awesome!" Kim bubbled excitedly. The glow faded from her enthusiasm as she regarded Tommy's unhappy expression. "I bet it's been tough for you guys; she's even farther away than I was."
That was putting it mildly.
"We write and call ...." he began hesitantly, not sure if he should talk to Kim – of all people – about this.
"I bet your mom just loves the phone bill," Kim chuckled, but Tommy didn't respond to her attempt at levity. He seemed troubled. "When was the last time you saw Kat?"
"Late August," he said. "She got home in July, but I was on the road with Uncle John. I didn't get to see her until just before she left to go back to the academy."
"Oh, that had to suck," Kim commiserated, "but she'll be home for Christmas, won't she?"
"She's due home any day now." If she wasn't already home. He mentally kicked himself; he should have known when she was coming in.
His lack of enthusiasm was apparent.
"Tommy, what's wrong?" Kim asked, fixing him with her best I-will-not-be-put-off glare. She couldn't stand for Tommy to be miserable.
He squirmed in his seat, rubbed the back of his neck, took a deep breath, and asked, "What do you think of me and Kat as a couple?"
In a way, it felt kind of weird asking his ex-girlfriend about his current one, but Kim was still a friend, and he'd always been able to talk to her about things he couldn't tell anyone else – even Jason.
"I think you guys are wonderful for each other," she said with all honesty – an honesty that hurt. When things first went to Hell, she'd hoped he'd find a nice girl like Kat to take away the pain she'd caused him. She'd known how much he'd loved her; she'd known exactly what her letter would have done to him.
"The two of you look absolutely gorgeous together. Kat is so warm and caring .... She'll love you the way you deserve to be loved, and you know how to treat a girl right – make her feel special. A girl couldn't ask for a better man than you."
Tommy wondered if she had any idea of the irony of her words.
"Why do you ask? Are you having doubts or something?" she questioned gently, hoping they weren't having trouble.
There was nothing in her tone or expression to give him any indication that her interest was more than genuine concern.
"I don't know ... sometimes, I just feel like Kat and I are from two different worlds," he sighed with frustration, not sure how to explain himself.
"How so?"
"It's just that she's into things like ballet and museums and artsy-type stuff, and I like karate movies and race cars and spending time at my uncle's cabin."
"Kat does enjoy some sports; after all, she was a Pan Global hopeful in diving," Kim reminded him, trying to find words of encouragement, "and you have a romantic streak a mile wide – a nice dinner for two, a walk in the park, nothing really fancy, just nice and quiet, flowers for no apparent reason ...."
Memories of which she still treasured.
"Well ... she and I kind of had a fight before she left for London. We both said things ...." Tommy breathed out a heavy sigh.
Tommy replayed her last words to him before she headed for the boarding gate: "Is this how you said good-bye to Kimberly when she went to Florida? Are we supposed to choose between you – our hearts – and our dreams? How can you ask that of us? What about you? Didn't you choose between your heart and your dreams? If Kim meant so bloody much to you, why didn't you follow her to Florida? If I mean so much to you, why don't you come with me to London? But, no, you have your duty. Back then, it was to the Rangers. Now, it's to your uncle. It looks like even you chose something else over your heart."
"She said that I didn't put her first enough ... that duty came before anything with me. She wanted me to come to London with her, but I couldn't. I had already agreed to extend my contract with Uncle John ...."
"Honor and duty are an integral part of who you are, Tommy," Kim said gently. "You wouldn't be you without them. You just need to learn how to juggle a relationship along with them. Sometimes, it's hard to take a back seat to your sense of responsibility, but a girl can't have you without your sense of duty.
"That's why I never asked you to come to Florida with me," she confessed to something she'd sworn she'd never tell him – mainly because it wouldn't change a thing. "I couldn't make you choose between me and your duty as a Ranger. Because I knew which one you would choose, and I didn't want to be disappointed."
"You wanted me to go with you?" he gaped, totally taken by surprise. After her letter, he hadn't expected to find out she cared so much.
"Only as desperately as I wanted you to ask me to stay."
"I never had any idea ...." he fumbled. At the time, he had wanted to ask Kim to stay, but in the end he knew he couldn't ask her to give up a lifelong dream.
"I know."
"Kim, what when wrong between us?" Tommy implored. He had to know why their relationship failed. Maybe if he understood that, he could fix whatever was wrong between him and Kat now.
"Nothing went wrong between us," she answered quietly.
"What do you mean, nothing? What about that other guy?"
"There was no other guy," she admitted, unable to meet his eyes. She had to look anywhere but at him with his soul-window eyes.
He gaped at her in astonishment. "Then why did you send me that letter?"
Why did you break my heart? he wanted to shout.
"I didn't want to, Tommy; I had to."
"Had to?" His tone was incredulous, disbelieving.
"Yes, and I couldn't even tell you the truth about it." Before he could say anything more, she pressed her fingers to his lips to silence him. "Please, this is going to be hard for me to explain, so just listen, okay?"
She fixed him with her most compelling gaze. What he read therein made him nod in acquiescence.
"Your uncle has corporate sponsors for his team, doesn't he?"
"Yes."
"And do those sponsors ever make unreasonable demands?"
"They try, but Aunt Jess keeps them in line for Uncle John. She's a sharp manager," Tommy answered with a wry smile. Aunt Jessica was always ragging on about the 'pushy' sponsors.
"Coach Schmidt had a sponsor for his gym – a private one, not corporate," Kim began. "Her name was Regina Carstairs – a bitter, eccentric old lady with more money than she knew what to do with. According to the other athletes, Miss Carstairs had wanted to be a gymnast once – until she found out she'd actually have to work to earn her way, that daddy's money couldn't buy her a gold medal.
"She always supported gymnastic clubs in the area. She gave Coach whatever he needed – be it uniforms, equipment or even money for a new facility. She even had the dormitory for the athletes built. The only conditions she ever put on her funding were that the athletes – meaning the female athletes – abide by her code of conduct, even if they didn't live in the dorm. She had very definite ideas about how young ladies should behave – she'd been educated in a very old-fashioned private girls' school."
"Sounds strict," Tommy murmured.
"You have no idea!" Kim groaned. "She's worse than my mom."
"Why did Coach let her do that?"
"He figured it was a small price to pay for guaranteed money, and it helped keep the athletes disciplined," she said with a shrug.
"Why only the girls?"
"Because some of the male athletes were married." Actually, the old double standard was probably more like it.
"I take it one of the rules was no boyfriends," he realized.
"Uh huh, but I didn't figure there'd be any problem. It wasn't like I was going to be seeing you and going on dates while training. I pretty much decided that I wasn't going to let some sour old biddy meddle in my love life. Heck, I wouldn't even let my own mother meddle in my love life. Besides, how was she going to know?
"By monitoring my mail and phone calls is how. She pressured my roommate into snitching on me." Thinking about it still made Kim furious. To know that a trusted friend had betrayed her ...
"Miss Carstairs finally called me into her office to 'discuss' the matter. Ha! She didn't discuss; she ordered me to dump you," she spat out, her anger bubbling over. "I wasn't about to let her tell me what to do; it was none of her business anyway. Our relationship wasn't a distraction; it was my anchor, my strength, my inspiration. I wasn't going to throw it all away for some dumb medal. I told her if she couldn't accept that, she could ask me to leave. I wouldn't quit otherwise."
"Would you really have given it all up?" Tommy asked in a choked whisper, stunned by the implication that she would have given up her dream for him.
"Tommy, as much as I wanted to try for the Pan Globals, you meant more to me than anything else. I was dead serious," Kim assured him, "and Carstairs knew it. She also knew that if she dismissed me, Coach would want to know why, and she wanted to keep him out of this. At the time, she said nothing and sent me back to the dorm. However, afterwards, I started noticing that some of the assistant coaches were a lot tougher on me. The house mother at the dorm watched me like a hawk. It was like everyone but Coach was going out of their way to make my life a living hell.
"If she thought she could manipulate me that way, she was in for a surprise. I'd sacrificed too much to be there, and I wasn't going to let some frustrated witch take my dream away from me. I was all set to tough it out ... to match wills with her. Then, she started playing dirty.
"I overheard Coach one day talking with one of the assistants about how Miss Carstairs had denied a request for new warm-ups for the team. She'd never ever denied the team anything. Over the next couple of weeks, she turned down other requests. There was rumbling among the gymnasts that Carstairs didn't like one of the gymnasts and that's why she was being so tight-fisted.
"That's when she called me into her office again. She told me that we were going to do things her way or else. No snippy teenager was going to tell her what to do. She said that unless I toed the line – dumped my boyfriend and behaved like a good girl, in other words kissing her ass – she was going to cut all the funding for the club."
"But that – that's blackmail!" he stammered, appalled.
"Uh huh."
"What did Coach say? Did she honestly think she was going to get away with it?"
"I didn't tell Coach, Tommy," Kim sighed sadly, her fury giving way to resignation. "I couldn't. If I had, she'd have just denied it. I already knew she had the bulk of the staff under her thumb, so who would have believed me over her? I knew it wasn't right, but I had no one else to turn to. I thought about filing a complaint with the gymnastics federation, but I knew if I tried, she wouldn't punish me, she'd punish the whole team."
She clutched his sleeve, imploring him to understand what she was about to tell him.
"Tommy, if she'd just been retaliating against me, I would have fought her, but all those other girls and Coach ... could I be responsible for destroying their dreams?"
"Coach could have found other sponsors," Tommy said, searching for any way for Kim not to have made the choice she had.
"In time for the Pan Globals?" Kim just shook her head. "In the end, I chose duty over my heart. Even worse than having to sacrifice our relationship was having to lie to you about it. The old bitch wanted to see the letter I was sending you; she didn't want the truth to get back to the federation. I had to come up with something believable, something she wouldn't censor and something I knew you wouldn't raise a fuss over. I couldn't have you coming there or even calling to ask me questions; I knew that, no matter what, you'd want me to be happy, even if it was with someone other than you. That letter had to be my last contact with you. And it damn near destroyed me."
"I just don't understand why," Tommy muttered helplessly. "Why did she have to be so vindictive? Why couldn't she have left you alone?"
"I don't know, really. I guess no one has ever told her 'no' before; she was used to getting her way. I have found out that she'd bullied other girls during her tenure as sponsor, and you can bet that once I no longer work for Coach, the gymnastics federation is going to get a very long, very detailed letter about her doings.
"Tommy, I'm sorry I had to do that to you – to us – but what else could I do? For the longest time, my only consolation was knowing that had you been in my shoes, you'd have done the same thing ...."
~*~
"And she was right; I would have done the same thing," Tommy told his audience.
"But ... but ..." Lynne sputtered, outraged by what her aunt and uncle had been forced to endure because of someone's selfish whim.
"That's so unfair!" Jasmine exclaimed.
"It was, but what else could Kim have done?" Kat interjected.
"She should have reported that witch!" Jared said hotly, knowing how he would feel if something like that had cropped up in the USFSA.
"Kim was a fighter, but she was also intelligent enough to know when fighting was futile," Kat soothed her son.
"Did that Carstairs woman ever get reported?" Jay asked.
"No. She died before Kim finished working for Coach," Tommy said. "In fact, in her will, she left a sizeable bequest to the facility, provided Coach retained the dorm. Kim did leave a detailed report with Coach Schmidt, though. We never knew what he did with it."
"Still, to choose strangers over her boyfriend ..." Ramon muttered.
"She couldn't have lived with the guilt of being responsible for destroying the dreams of so many people," Tommy sighed.
"'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few'," Rachel murmured softly, quoting from her favorite Star Trek movie.
"Exactly," Tommy confirmed. "I remember being amazed at how well she seemed to know me and how little I knew her. She knew I'd have done the same thing in her shoes. She knew that her happiness meant more to me than anything else. And I believed she cared so little about me that she went and found herself another boyfriend ..."
"That was rather thick-headed of you," Kat teased him gently, knowing she could get away with it. "It was glaringly obvious to the rest of us just how much she loved you. That's why her letter was so odd."
"I'm just glad things eventually worked out for us," was all Tommy could say.
"But you and Mom still didn't get back together right away," Jay pointed out; there had to be more to the story.
"No, we didn't."
"How come you didn't just dump Mom?" Oliver asked indelicately, and was rewarded with several dire glares from the females in the room. "I mean, you were already having doubts then, right?"
"I could never have hurt your mother the way I'd been hurt," Tommy replied. "I may have had doubts, but I still wanted things to work out for the two of us at that point."
"And even if he'd been so inclined, Kim wouldn't have let him," Kat elaborated. "She never wanted to come between us. Just like with the gymnasts, she couldn't have borne being the reason Tommy and I broke up."
"We just had to let things run their course," Tommy concluded.
"Mom was a firm believer in true love and happily ever after," Trini spoke up. "She once told me that one of the reasons she stayed away from Angel Grove – from you – for so long was because she couldn't stop hoping ... She truly believed that you two belonged together and that someday you would be."
"Your mother was a very wise woman."
To Be Continued …