Chapter 8: Revelations of Grandeur

Tommy and Kim made small talk throughout dinner, mostly about the good food and the wine. After they were finished, they ordered coffee and dessert. It was the perfect setting for a good heart to heart talk.

"OK, I'm listening." Tommy could see that whatever happened in Florida all those years ago was more than just a teenage girl falling for another guy, then deciding to end her long-distance relationship with her first boyfriend to be with him. He fixed Kim with his full attention.

"Well, first of all, I want you to know that you didn't do anything wrong. What led me to break up with you was entirely the result of my immature, poor judgment. Please promise me you believe that."

"I do. You were only seventeen. Give yourself a break."

"I'm ready to. Telling you this story is the final step in my reconciliation with myself."

Before continuing, Kim took a deep breath then let it out. "So, the first few months I lived in Florida were a huge adjustment for me. I was on my own for the first time, and it was a huge surprise to discover that Angel Grove wasn't the center of the universe. Girls came from all over the country to try out and we each had different backgrounds and values. Talk about serious culture shock. It became a very competitive environment. There were twenty-five of us, and only twelve spots on the Pan Global team. We were forced to live and train together, knowing that over half of us wouldn't make it. There was a guy's team, too, of course. As you can imagine, that made for some nasty cat fights. It turned into a popularity contest and some of the girls made life very difficult for the ones that didn't fit in. The coaches tolerated it. I guess they thought it would make us tougher. You know, 'survival of the fittest'? But to survive in that world, you had to play along. That meant following the crowd, no matter what."

For the first time since she began her tale, she looked Tommy directly in the eye.

"There was a lot of alcohol, and a lot of sex. The girl's and guy's teams had parties all the time, and you had to go to be seen. All of this social pressure was on top of the pressure to train harder, to be the best, and make the cut. We still had school to worry about, too. It was a little much for me. I had held off as long as I could, making excuse after excuse why I wasn't drinking and partying like everyone else. Eventually, I got a reputation as a prude. They thought I was stuck up, that I thought I was better than them. I was shunned, even by the coaches, who said I wasn't a team player. I had two choices. I could quit and come home to Angel Grove, and to you, or I could adapt. I refused to quit, so I started going to the parties and gradually working my way into the in-crowd. A few days before they were going to announce the first round of cuts from the team, there was a huge bash. Everyone was trying to release the pressure, I guess. I went, and had a few drinks. There was this guy there, Matthew, who had been paying a lot of attention to me for weeks, even though he knew I had a boyfriend. He was charming, sophisticated, from New York, eighteen years old. We got to talking, and drinking. He was, by far, the best gymnast on the men's team. I suppose I thought he could be my ticket to the finals. Well, long story short, I made a snap decision then and there that if I wasn't going to quit, I had to play the game, by their rules."

"So, did you get cut? We didn't see you on the team."

"No, I didn't get cut." Another deep breath. "I got pregnant." Kim gave Tommy a moment to let her revelation sink in. To his credit, he didn't react negatively at all. He simply gave her his most understanding, non-judgmental look.

"Yep, you heard me right. I got pregnant that night, because of an instantaneous decision I made while half-drunk. I wanted to die, I really did. I didn't know how to tell Matt, or my parents, but especially you and the rest of the guys. I just didn't think I could face the humiliation, and I knew that I couldn't look you in the eye and admit to you that because I wanted to be popular, I had sex with a guy I only met a couple months ago. I mean, you and I, we hardly ever kissed, even after two years together, and I just went and…" It was Kim's turn to blush beet-red. She had to dab her eyes with her napkin.

Tommy felt ill. It was the same type of nausea he had when he found Elizabeth with his buddy Rob. This time though, the feeling was borne not only of the image of her with another man, but also out of sympathy for the obvious shame she felt due to her admission.

"Kim, it's OK. It had to be an incredibly difficult time for you. I wish I'd have known what a tough time you were having there. Your letters always made things sound OK." Tommy knew of a few girls at the high school that were pregnant. He could see how they struggled with the humiliation.

"I couldn't tell you. I just couldn't tell any of you. About two weeks after I found out, I wrote the letter. That same day, I told Matt. Then I was really alone. He wanted nothing to do with a baby, I could do whatever I felt like, but he didn't want to be involved. Making the gymnastics team was too important, and he said I'd better not tell anyone it was his. His reputation would suffer. So, there I was, something like five weeks pregnant. I hadn't been to a doctor, and I hadn't told the coaches or my parents. Since I had made the cut, I was expected to continue training, so I did. Then the morning sickness started. I was so tired, and I tried to be careful, but neither my career as a mother or a gymnast were meant to be. I was distracted, and one day, I took a pretty hard dismount off the parallel bars. I walked away fine, but that night, I started bleeding heavily. The only girl there that I trusted enough to tell my secret to was my friend, Heidi. She made me go to the Emergency Room. I lost the baby, and it was my fault."

"Kim, I'm so sorry." Tommy didn't know what else to say. He never expected this.

"Thank you. Well, my mom found out from the hospital because I was just barely still a minor. I obviously wouldn't be able to train for a while, so I was cut from the team. I didn't know what to do. All my plans were ruined. Mom was great, though. She flew in from Paris and stayed with me until I graduated and got on my feet. I got an apartment and a job, applied for student loans, and enrolled in Florida U. One day, I was feeling especially lonely for my friends in Angel Grove, so in a moment of bravery, I called Jason. He was the one I'd known the longest, since first grade. He had some time, so he came out to see me. I didn't tell him what happened, but I think he knew there was something wrong. I tried to convince him that I was just homesick, and that's where the idea of me coming out to California to see you guys came from. Then we were kidnapped."

"I was blown away when I saw you in that cell in the viewing globe."

"You were so kind to me when I was under Divatox's spell. You had every right to be angry with me. That letter was so immature."

"At that point, I just wanted you safe. I was never angry, just hurt."

"Then I saw that you were with Katherine…"

It was Tommy's turn to feel uncomfortable. He didn't want Kim to think he got over her overnight. His relationship with Kat just evolved without them really even trying. It was not an active pursuit like it was with Kim.

"Yeah, we were a couple by then. We stayed together for about three years, but we were very passive about our relationship. Other things took priority for both of us, and we realized that we were moving in different directions. It was a friendly split."

"I'm sorry it didn't work out. Has there been, or is there anyone else? Never mind, it's none of my business." God, am I stupid!

"No, it's OK. There was someone. It's been over now for about three years. I've had a few dates, but I've never been good at the casual dating thing." Tommy proceeded to tell her the story of him and Elizabeth. Just then, it dawned on him that other than Haley, he'd never told anyone else exactly what happened. Not even his parents, his brother, or Jason. He was opening up to Kim again as naturally as he did when they were kids.

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks. I'm over it now. What about you? You haven't been alone all these years, have you?"

"No, there have been a few relationships, and lots of first dates. But there was always this secret hanging over my head. My guilt was like a shadow, following me everywhere. I was pretty serious about this one guy, but I realized that I didn't feel comfortable telling him what happened. I couldn't open up to him, and that wasn't a good sign, so we split up about two years ago. I've never been able to talk to any man the way I could talk to you."

Kim's voice dropped off when she realized the enormity of what she'd said. Their eyes met and locked for a moment, before they both shyly averted them. The sound of Tommy's cell phone finally broke through the loudest silence that either of them had ever heard.

"Excuse me." Tommy was secretly grateful for the distraction. He didn't want the awkwardness to return. The one step forward, two steps back game was getting old. Pulling his phone out of the inner pocket of his jacket, he quickly flipped it open to read the caller ID. It was his parent's number. Oh shit, I forgot about the wedding. That must be why Mom's calling… "It's my Mom. I'm sorry. I'll just be a minute."

"No, please, take your time." Saved by the bell, Kim thought.

"Hi, Mom."

"Hi sweetie. Do you know why I'm calling?"

"Yeah, about Tracy's wedding."

"Oh, you remembered. So you're going, aren't you? I already told Aunt Martha you'd be there."

"I promised you I would go, so I will."

"Are you bringing anybody? I know the invitation included a guest."

Here we go… "No, Mom, I wasn't planning on it."

"Why not? You had plenty of time to ask someone. I swear, Martha's always bragging about her grandkids, and here I have a handsome son with a PhD., who's almost thirty and still single."

"Mom, stop, please? Now, what time tomorrow?"

"Why don't you come to our house first, about six o'clock. That way we can all go together. Your father always gets lost."

"OK, I'll be there then."

"Alright, sweetie. Just wait until everyone sees how well my gorgeous son grew up! And if you could find a date…"

"Mother!" Tommy wasn't really upset with his Mom. The nagging about his singleness was getting old the more frequent it occurred, but he knew she meant well. She and her sister Martha have always been competitive. Martha had four kids, and Tommy always wondered if deep down, she felt superior because his parents couldn't have children of their own.

"I know, dear. I just want you to be happy."

Tommy had been concentrating so hard on hearing his phone conversation over the noise of a popular restaurant on a Friday night, he momentarily forgot about Kim sitting right in front of him. Oh, God, not another crazy idea…

"I am. Listen, Mom. I'm not promising anything, but I'll see what I can do."

"Really? Alright, baby, see you at six tomorrow. Wear that nice grey suit."

"OK, Mom. Love you, bye."

"Love you, too."

When Kim heard Tommy ending the call, she turned her attention from the people watching she had been doing back to him. He was laughing as he put his phone away.

"Sorry. My Mom was just delivering one of her 'reminder' calls."

"How are your parents?"

"Fine. They moved from Angel Grove to a town called Seven Hills a few years ago. It's about an hour from here. Dad's semi-retired. He still dabbles in stock brokering, but only on a consultant basis. Mom is a nurse manager at a long-term care facility. They still love to golf during the day and bowl at night. How about your parents? And your brother?"

"Mom still lives in Paris with Jean-Paul. She teaches English at an intermediate school. Dad lives in Cleveland now. He got a great job as a promotions manager at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I've been there several times and got to see some great bands like U2 and The Police. My brother lives in Atlanta, and is married to a nice girl named Eileen. They have two boys; Jeffrey is four, and Mark is two. I've driven up from Florida to see them a lot. Tell me about your brother. You must have been so surprised."

"I was. David is almost four years older than me. He was adopted by another couple in the tribe, the Trueheart family. My father, Michael, was killed in a car accident three months before I was born. My mother, Teresa, had to care for David while being pregnant and grieving for her husband. The stress must have been too much for her. She went into labor four weeks early. Native Americans living on reservations usually don't have babies in hospitals, especially in the seventies, so my mother labored at home. Eventually, the midwife realized that something was seriously wrong, so she had her taken to the hospital near Phoenix. By the time they got her there, she was in respiratory distress. The doctors delivered me by Caesarean, but the whole thing was such a strain on my mother's system that she went into multiple organ failure. One of the nurses taking care of her in the ICU was Laura Oliver. She took such good care of my mother, taking more than a professional interest in her. The doctors didn't want to let Teresa see me, with all the germs and everything in hospitals. But as her condition deteriorated, my Mom argued with them that a dying woman should be able to see her baby before she goes. You know how persuasive she can be, so they finally agreed to have me brought to the ICU ward as long as I stayed in the incubator. Teresa was so grateful to Mom for what she did. Over the few weeks she was there, they got to know each other. My Mom talked about how she and my dad weren't having any luck starting a family, and were thinking of adopting. Before Teresa died, she asked for a lawyer to draw up papers allowing me to be adopted by the Olivers. As difficult as it must have been for her to have us split up, she somehow knew that I belonged with them. David knew about me from the time he was fifteen, but on his father's advice, he waited until I was eighteen before finding me. I couldn't believe it."

"Wow. And you didn't know any of this while you were growing up?"

"I knew I was orphaned by a woman my mother cared for in the hospital, and that the woman asked my parents to take me. For some reason, Teresa never mentioned David to my mom. Maybe she wanted one of her boys to be raised in the Native American culture. He's a social worker on the reservation, doing substance abuse counseling. He's been married to his wife, Sandra, for about eight years. They have three girls. Patricia's five, Carrie's three, and little Christine is almost a year. I have so much fun with them. I wish I could see them more often, but it's about a four hour drive to where they live in Nevada from here. We only get together about once every six weeks or so."

"You know, when I was trying to decide what to do when I had my baby, I seriously considered putting him or her up for adoption. I saw how you, an adopted child, could grow up just as happy and well-adjusted as any other child. My baby could have had a Mom and Dad that were ready to become parents, rather than an eighteen year old girl who didn't know what she was going to do with her life."

"That was an incredibly brave and unselfish thing you were thinking about doing. It would have been even harder than what my birth mother did, because she was dying. I've always considered myself very lucky to have the Olivers as my family. I never felt deprived."

"Has knowing where you came from changed you in any way?"

"I don't know. Not really. I still consider the Olivers my real parents. I've learned a lot about my Cherokee heritage, but I don't over-identify with it. By that I mean I've never considered running off to live on the reservation with David. My parents encouraged me to learn as much or as little as I wanted about it, but I still relate more to the upbringing I actually had, not the one I would have had."

"Your parents were as lucky to have you as you were to have them."

"You flatter me. Uh, how's your Tiramisu?" She could still make Tommy blush easier than anyone else.

"To die for. What about the cheesecake?"

"Never had better."

Just when they were beginning to struggle with finding the next topic of conversation, Carla showed up at the table with a pot of coffee. "Refill, Tommy?"

"No thank you, Carla. It's getting too late for that much caffeine." When it looked to him like the young waitress was going to leave without offering more coffee to Kim, Tommy spoke up. "Kim?"

"No, I'm fine, thanks." Kimberly smiled at the girl despite the rudeness she displayed. Not surprisingly, Carla completely ignored her and plunked herself down next to Tommy, scooting embarrassingly close. He visibly stiffened, clearly uncomfortable with her proximity.

"So, Tommy, what are you doing this weekend?" she asked, shamelessly placing her hand on his knee.

He discreetly reached down and removed her hand. "I'm, um, going to my cousin's wedding."

"Oh, that sounds like fun. With who?"

"Just my parents…" As soon as he said it, Tommy saw an almost manic gleam form in Carla's eyes. Uh-oh "…and Kim," he added to deter any thoughts she might have of volunteering to be his escort.

The disappointment that appeared on the girl's face almost made him feel bad, but not quite. Rudeness was a pet peeve of his, and he could only allow her behavior to pass on the teenage crush ticket for so long. She crossed the line.

Tommy gave Kim a look that said 'go with me on this'. She understood implicitly, and played along, upping the ante, and only feeling slightly guilty. Carla did need to be taught a lesson. "Just wait 'till you see the dress I picked out. Don't look in that garment bag in the bedroom closet. I want it to be a surprise! We have to remember to set the alarm tonight before we go to bed because I have a hair appointment at eleven." The momentary hesitation that he displayed at her performance had Kim wondering if she'd gone too far. The implication she made about their relationship, although strictly for show, was explicitly sexual. Tommy had always been easily embarrassed, but taking in his expression assured her that she was on the right track.

"I'm sleeping in tomorrow, Kim. I'll probably still be in bed when you get back from the salon." Then with a leer, he added, "you can wake me up then."

Carla suddenly felt very out of place. She quickly excused herself, dropped the check on the table, and hurried off to the kitchen, mortified and green with envy.

As soon as she was gone, Tommy and Kim broke into fits of laughter. "The Academy award for best actress in an Italian restaurant goes to Kimberly Hart. I think she got the point."

"You deserve a nomination yourself, dear. What time is it? The place is clearing out. Maybe they're going to close."

"Yep, they're probably cleaning up. It's almost eleven-thirty. Do you want to get out of here? We can take a walk. It's a beautiful neighborhood." Tommy found himself not wanting the night to end. Now that Kim had a chance to tell her story, an enormous weight seems to have lifted off of her shoulders. Her lighthearted spirit returned, and the feelings she stirred in him were both new and familiar. It wouldn't be that crazy to ask her to the wedding, would it?

"I'd love to. Let's go." Kim tried not to show too much excitement at his suggestion. She felt like a new woman, like her soul has been cleansed. Now she knew that running into Tommy was an omen. The more they talked, the more she realized that the attraction that drew them together all those years ago was just a natural part of their chemistry. It may have been put on hold, but had not faded.

Tommy got up and took Kim's hand to help her out of the booth. The contact sent sparks through both of them. Their eyes met and locked, and they both could have sworn that their hearts must have skipped several beats. Reluctantly, he let go of her hand and pulled out his wallet. While rummaging through it to find his cash, he noticed Kim trying to do the same.

"What are you doing? I'm getting this."

"No, Tommy! I told you that I owed you dinner. It's the least I could do."

"You don't owe me anything. The forgiveness that you owe, you owe to yourself. Now, this was my idea, and I'm paying." His determination was unwavering.

"Haven't you become assertive? OK, if you insist, but next time, it's my turn." Shit, I just implied there'd be a 'next time'. What if I don't get the job and never see him again? Don't think about that, Kim.

"Deal." Tommy smiled at her playful pout, trying hard not to show how thrilled he was that she left open the possibility of another date. Uh, I mean dinner, another DINNER.

He left enough money on the table for the bill and a nice tip for Carla, despite her behavior, then reached again for Kim's hand and proceeded to weave a path through the other straggling diners still enjoying their meals.

Mama waved goodbye to them from the kitchen, and Tommy barely had presence of mind to return the gesture. If he had been conscious of anything besides the incredible feeling of her tiny, warm hand in his, he might have noticed two of his students seated in a booth near the door.

Cassidy Cornell, reporter for Reefside High's TV station, and all around nosy pain in the ass, prided herself on always getting her story. And she wasn't at all shy about filling in any spaces between the factual information with gossip. But this was BIG news!

"Devin, look behind you," she whispered to her trusty sidekick and camera man, Devin DelValle. "That's Dr. Oliver with some lady. He just took her hand, it must bea date. Quick, we have toget this on film."

Author's Notes: Colossal chapter, I know, but a lot to cover. I realize that wasn't the most original reason for the letter, but that's not reallywhat this story is about. I did try to write thisas a real conversation, and not cut corners. They would have had so much to catch up on. Thanks to all who R&R.