Through Other People's Eyes

Part 5

By Steph (awriter78@hotmail.com)

When Dave first left for Whittier College, Lane moped. She acted like the stereotypical teenage girl and wrote sappy love songs that were beneath her. She wrote long letters to him and waited anxiously for the mail. She cherished what little time she had to talk to him on the phone.

And in those last few weeks when she had begun to wonder about him and Aimee and she didn't know what she was feeling, she only wanted to talk to him.

Now he was standing in front of her and she was speechless.

He stood expectantly, looking surprised at her lack of response. "Uh, Merry Christmas?" he asked hopefully.

That did it. She walked up to him and hugged him. "What are you doing here?"

He hugged her back. "I don't care what anybody says. It just isn't Christmas when it's 65 degrees outside. My mom sent me a plane ticket and now I'm here."

"You're here," she said. Then she squealed. "You're here."

"That's more of the reaction I was hoping for," he said easily. "What are you doing today? You don't have school, do you?"

"No," she said. "But I'm working. All day. I start in an hour."

"Tell you what," Dave said. "I'll walk with you to work and then go hang out with the guys. Give me a call when you're on break and we'll eat lunch together. Then I'll hang out with the family and I'll come get you when you're off work."

"Sounds great," she said. "I need to get dressed and ready. Can you wait outside?"

"Why?" he asked. "Oh right, if your mom came in and I was all by myself…"

"Not a pretty situation," she said.

"Is she here?" Dave asked.

"My mom? No, I don't know where she is."

Dave leaned down and kissed her. She closed her eyes. She could do this all day. Too quickly, she stopped the kiss. "I have to get ready."

"Right," Dave said. "I'll be outside."

"Hungry?" Lane asked Dave as they opened the door to the diner.

"Nah, I had some breakfast," he said. "But I'll come by for lunch. What time?"

"I'll take a break about two," she said.

"Okay," he said. "I'll see you then."

Luke walked up to them. "Lane, will you do me a favor and remind Taylor that I'm not putting any decorations up? Maybe he'll listen to you more than me. I just own the damned place."

"Sure," she said. Then she motioned to Dave. "Luke, this is my boyfriend Dave. Dave, this is my boss Luke."

Dave stuck out his hand. Luke didn't take it at first. He looked him over with narrowed eyes. Lane looked Dave over too, trying to see what Luke was seeing. Lane just saw her boyfriend, looking reassuringly the same as he had when she had last seen him. Same curly hair, maybe cut slightly shorter. Same slight, adorable lispy thing going on with his voice. She could barely stop herself from swooning.

A few uncomfortable seconds later, Luke shook Dave's hand. "Nice to meet you," he said before turning to Lane. "You should get started."

"Okay," she said. She quickly kissed Dave. He waved and left. She went to work.

Lane was standing in back, waiting for Cesar to finish up an order of pancakes, when Luke walked up to her.

"Is that the boyfriend who has another girlfriend?" Luke asked.

Embarrassed, she turned back to face Cesar. "I don't know," she mumbled. "I think…maybe, but…"

"If he does," Luke said moving a little to pick up some plates. "Just send him my way. I'll take care of the little punk."

She couldn't help but feel warm with gratitude, even though she knew she'd never take him up on his offer. "Thanks, Luke. I'll keep it in mind."

When she worked full days, Lane got a little break, as well as a lunch. On her break, she called Dora.

"Should I ask Dave about her?" Lane asked.

"I don't know," Dora said. "On one hand, it would probably ease your mind if you knew one way or the other."

"On the other hand," Lane said. "This will probably be the only time I get to see him until…maybe summer, and I don't want to ruin it."

"Sometimes ignorance is bliss," Dora said.

"I'm not going to say anything for now," Lane decided. "But if the opportunity presents itself…"

"Seize it," Dora said. "Are you at work?"

"Yeah," Lane said. "Do you want me to put Luke on?"

"That's not why I asked," Dora said sounding annoyed. "I was asking, because Kristen's coming over with her new boyfriend and she wants you to meet him."

"This is the one with the tattoos and piercings?" Lane asked.

"That's him," Dora said. "I would hate to stand behind him at a metal detector."

"I have to work and then Dave and I are going to hang out," Lane said. "I want full details about this guy."

"Sure. And I want full details about the Dave situation. Maybe we can all get together tomorrow."

"Sure," Lane said. "Oh, gotta go." She hung up and went back to work.

The day passed slowly for Lane. She worked quickly, almost at a frantic pace. She couldn't take orders or clear tables fast enough. Several times she found herself tapping her foot impatiently when people took their time. A few people noticed.

"What's going on?" Lorelai asked. "You seem jumpy. Have you looked into decaf? I actually don't believe in the stuff, but some people swear on it."

Lane looked at the wall clock for the hundredth time, "It's just that Dave's here and we're going to hang out once my shift is over."

"When's that?"

"Four hours," Lane said.

"We can't have this," Lorelai said. "Luke!" she called.

He frowned but walked over to them. "What?" he asked.

"Are you aware that Lane's boyfriend is in town?"

"Skinny kid," Luke said. "Yeah, I met him today. Why?"

"Maybe you can cut back Lane's hours tonight so she can go be with the love of her life," Lorelai suggested. "Come on, Luke, you remember young love, right? Remember when you couldn't wait for your 'Star Trek' episode to be over, so you could see your girl?"

"No," Lane said immediately. "I need the hours. I need the money. But thanks." She grabbed her order pad and practically ran to the next table.

Three hours and fifty-six minutes to go. She could do this.

"So what did you want to do?" Dave asked as he picked her up from work.

"I don't know. We can just hang out," Lane said. Dave put his arm around her and they walked out.

After walking around town a few times, they ended up back at her place.

"Does this mean that I have to go home?" Dave asked. "It's still early."

"No, let me just check in with my mom again," she said.

Lane opened the door. "Mama," she called. "Look who's back for vacation."

Mrs. Kim entered the front room, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "What is it, Lane?" Then she noticed Dave. "David," she said primly.

"Hello, Mrs. Kim," he said formally. "How are you doing?"

"Well, thank you. How are your studies?"

"Fine," Dave said somewhat awkwardly.

"No drugs," Lane's mother said, more as a command, than a question.

"Definitely no drugs. No alcohol. No frat parties," Dave said.

Lane's mother nodded, approving. "Fine then."

"Mama, Dave and I are going to sit outside and talk awhile, okay?" Lane asked. It was so demeaning that she had to ask permission, but after the tentative truce they had formed over her work hours, she didn't want to jeopardize anything.

"Fine," Lane's mother said. "Not too late. We have church tomorrow."

"Yes, Mama," Lane said reluctantly. She grabbed Dave's arm and pushed him outside.

Alone again, the two of them sat side-by-side on her porch. They didn't say much at first, only sat holding hands quietly, enjoying each other's company.

Finally Dave touched her shoulder with his other hand. "Lane, there's something I have to tell you."

Lane swallowed. This was it. This was how it would happen. He would tell her he was dating someone else. She steeled herself for his news. "What is it?" she asked.

"I told Zach and Brian about this earlier and they were okay with it."

Well, what would they care if Dave had another girlfriend? Now she was confused. She turned to Dave. "What?"

"I'm in another band," he said. "I started one up with some kids at school. We're not as good as the four of us were, but we're getting it together. I'm sorry I didn't say anything about it before. I should have."

She released a breath she didn't even know she was holding. "No, it's okay."

"Good," he said. He seemed a little more relaxed with that off his chest. He put his arm around her again and she leaned in to his familiar embrace.

"Do you want to see a picture?" Dave asked.

"A picture?" she asked. "Of what?"

"Of the band. I have one with me."

"Sure," she said.

She looked with little interest at the three other people, before turning her attention to her boyfriend's picture. She couldn't help but smile.

"It's cheesy," Dave admitted, "but Aimee's brother is a photographer and he did this publicity shot for free which was nice since there was no way we could pay for it."

Lane froze. "Aimee?"

Dave pointed her out to Lane. "She's one of the singers. She's got a pretty good voice."

Lane looked at Aimee. She was not thin and blond like Lane had pictured. She was tall and curvy, with dark hair and a wide smile.

She was, in a word, gorgeous.

And it was only then that Lane found the courage to ask him the question she had been pondering for weeks. "Are you dating Aimee?"

The front door banged open and Mrs. Kim stuck her head out. "Ten minutes," she barked. She walked back inside.

Lane ignored her mother's interruption and turned to Dave. "Are you?"

"No," Dave said plainly, earnestly. Lane could tell he was telling the truth.

Instead of feeling relieved, she asked another question. "But you like her though. Be honest. It's okay."

Dave didn't answer and looked away. And Lane knew this time what the truth was. Dave wouldn't cheat on her. But he liked this other girl. She felt like crying, but didn't. She didn't say anything.

"Lane, I'm so sorry," Dave said sadly.

She shook her head. "We have ten minutes left tonight." Tomorrow she would cry, but not now.

He nodded and began stroking her hair. It felt so nice that she couldn't help but lean into him again.

The lights flickered on and off a couple of times. A surge of impatience ran through Lane. "I can't believe this," she seethed. "I can't even have a few minutes of being happy."

Dave didn't say anything, but continued to stroke her hair. He pulled her closer and even though she knew this comfort, this couple-ness was fleeting, she welcomed it all the same.

"I can't do this anymore," she said softly. "I'm eighteen. I'm an adult."

He placed a kiss on the top of her head and she continued. "I'm going to move out." It's the first time she had said that out loud. She didn't even know she had been considering it.

"Really?" Dave asked.

"My friends Kristen and Dora are moving into an apartment. I'm going to move in with them," she said. She repeated the last sentence. She was really going to do it. She would call them from Luke's tomorrow.

"That's great, Lane," Dave said. "You need to do it."

She did need to. Otherwise, she wouldn't ever be able to socialize with friends, to play with the band whenever she wanted to, to work at Luke's whenever she wanted to. This way, she could be a normal college freshman.

Dora and Kristen would be thrilled.

Her mother would not be.

"My mother won't like it," she said. "But I'm going to do it."

"You'll be happier," Dave said.

"I hope so," she said.

She was really going to do this.

Dave turned to face her. "It'll be worth it."

A few seconds later, he kissed her softly, and she didn't know if it was meant to be a goodbye kiss, but she felt like it could have been.

"You're going to be okay, Lane," Dave said. "I can feel it."

"You're right," Lane said knowing it was true. "I will be."

The End