A/N Well this was quick. Hope you like it. This chapter gives maybe a little more insight into the future John Bender. I wasn't sure where this was going for a long time but suddenly was inspired. Thanks to everyone for their reviews. BTW If you read yesterdays chaper of "The Weekend is over" (my other fic) called "Life a Big Bri's house", please check and see if you read the correct version. Stupid didn't replace it right away yesterday. Now on to the story...

Talking to Claire really helped me. It didn't put things in perspective but it helped me to forgive myself a little for my behavior back then. Maybe if I could forgive myself a little bit then maybe Allison could forgive me too. I wasn't going to hold my breath. There were many times in the days that followed "THE INCIDENT" that I put myself in her place and it wasn't where I would wish anyone to be. Larry Lester would always have the physical scars of what I did to him but Allison would have the mental ones. Larry was neither a friend nor an enemy. I never talked to him or made fun of him before. He was just there. He knew I had no feelings about him. No, I take that back I did. I told the Breakfast Club that I attacked him because he was weak. That was part of it. Later on I realized at the moment I attacked him for not knowing the pressure I did. I hated him because he had the ability to love wrestling in a way I couldn't thanks to my father.

Allison on the other hand I did love or had the potential to love. Unlike Larry I thought about her. I kissed her. I gave her the impression that she meant something to me, led her to put her faith in that and then hurt her. Who was the weak one then? It was certainly not her and certainly not Larry Lester. I had become what I despised.

I didn't know if I could ever make amends with Allison. Maybe I wasn't meant to. Perhaps all I was supposed to do with this opportunity that was presenting itself was just simply say, "I am sorry." It was something I never had the opportunity to do before.

After leaving Claire I drove across town to the Jewel store where John Bender was the manager. I still had an idea about Saturday night. I knew Claire and although I told her where he worked she would never go there herself. And if I told John about Claire he would never go to see her. Stubborn pride was their biggest problem. Neither was willing to give an inch. It was that way from the beginning.

I pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car. I wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing but it felt right to me. Once I was inside I went to the customer service counter and asked to speak to the manager. The girl working there didn't seem to believe that there was nothing wrong but I wanted to speak to Mr. Bender anyway. She reluctantly paged him over the PA system, "Mr. Bender please report to the customer service desk." I noticed as I stood there waiting, a smiling picture of John on the wall behind the counter. His hair was short and he was wearing a tie. I had to smile at the thought of John Bender wearing a tie. Okay Grocery store manager wasn't the most glamorous job but it made me wonder what Mr. Vernon would say if he could see John today.

"Candy, what seems to be the problem," he asked the girl behind the counter.

"Sir this man came in and insisted on talking to you. He wouldn't say what the problem was."

He turned, saw me and smiled. "Relax, Candy. I'll take care of it." She nodded and went back to her job. "So Andy, what brings you around these parts? The canned yams not meet your satisfaction?"

"They were pretty good actually once my mom fixed them up a bit. Actually I decided to come by and see you. Would have called but we didn't exactly swap phone numbers the other day."

"Come on back to my office. We can converse there."

In silence we walked back to the back of the store. "Mr. Bender," called an old woman with silver gray hair, "I just wanted to thank you for holding that pork roast for me."

"My pleasure, Mrs. Abercrombie." He said and kissed her hand. My eyebrow went up in disbelief. As we started walking again he said, "She's a nice old lady. What?"

"I don't know you're just…"

"Just?"

"Just…well different."

We walked through a plastic covered doorway between the dairy and the lunchmeat and into the storeroom. There was a sign on the door on the right that said, "John Bender, District Manager."

"Six years and lots of therapy," he said as he opened the door. "Take a seat." He sat behind the desk and I in a ratty sixty style office chair upholstered in worn gray vinyl.

We looked at each other a moment. The silence was deafening and I wasn't sure anymore why I had come. "So what can I do for you Andrew?"

"I'm not really sure. I guess I just wanted to talk and well you are here."

"How you doin' since your old man's…." he searched for an appropriate word, "funeral."

"It's going. Well I'm going, or will be to bereavement counseling tomorrow. Have you been?" I asked the question remembering that he had said before that his dad passed away.

"No. By that time I had enough with therapy and interventions that it was the last thing I wanted to do. I know that Claire told you about my problem in high school. Funny how we never talked to each other after that Saturday yet we served as each others confessional priest."

"Who did you confide in?"

He smirked. "I'd rather not get into that. So did you and Claire ever get together?"

What? The question surprised me and made me angry. "Claire? Me?" Then my anger at the question vanished and I laughed. "Claire was a friend. I was never interested in her that way. Once we graduated I never saw her. You?"

"I watched her and Brian." I must have given him a funny look. "Hey the kid needed someone to watch out for him. Book smart but not street smart."

"So what happened to Brian?"

"I lost track of him after he went off east to some big name school out there. Probably became National Geographic cover boy."

"Don't take what I am about to ask the wrong way but how could think you could take care of Brian if you couldn't take care of yourself?"

"Touché. I didn't really. It just gave me the feeling of having some kind of control in my life. That was my main problem with Claire. I wanted to have control over her because I had no control, things…" Then he stopped. "Nah no point in dwelling back there. It wasn't a good time."

"Well you haven't done badly. District manager huh? I was under the impression the other day you just managed this one store."

He beamed with pride. I don't recall the John Bender I knew ever beaming with pride. "It's not much compared to you but compared to where I almost ended up. Im happy with it."

Then I noticed a picture on his desk of a little girl with big green eyes and wavy dark brown hair. "Who is she?"

"Oh, that is Madeline. My daughter."

Okay there goes my plan. "You're married?"

"No. Her mother and I …well it was a one night stand. I was in a bad place, she was there. Don't look at me like that I didn't take advantage of her. It was her idea actually. It was good for the time. We stayed friends and she lives with her mom. I have her on weekends and after work. It's a good arrangement and Maddie never wants for anything."

"How old is she?"

"Four. What about you? Are you seeing anyone?"

"Shit! I was so involved with the funeral and my mom I forgot about Jessica. She had no idea where I am." I couldn't believe that I was so stupid.

"Guess you two aren't that serious yet if you have been gone almost a week and she hasn't sicced the cops on you as a missing person."

I didn't reply. I had been thinking about asking Jessica to marry me, once I found a job at a good law firm that is. Then there was Allison? How could I ask Jessica to marry me until I took care of things with her? How could I ask her to marry me if I forgot about her so quickly? Bender's simple question of "are you seeing anyone" had just made me question everything.

"No, I guess we aren't. I looked at my watch. Listen I should get back and check on my mom but what would you think of meeting up Saturday night for dinner?"

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

"No, dinner."

"Where?"

"Mikado for Sushi?"

He busted out laughing. "Sushi?"

"Yeah rice, raw fish and seaweed."

"Sure Ill give it a shot. Why not? Oh I do have Maddie this weekend. Mind if I bring her along?

"Bring her I'd love to meet her."

"Just so you know she is a lot like her mom."

"Is that bad?"

He just smiled. "See you Saturday, Sporto."