Two Months Later
Jason sipped at his smoothie as he watched Kimberly execute a needle scale, a standing 180 degree split, and transition to a cross handstand on the balance beam. She arched her back until her feet touched the beam and then slowly pulled the rest of her body up gracefully until she was standing tall. Kimberly spun around in place, displacing some of the chalk that had gathered on the leather-like surface. She suddenly leapt and did the splits facing Jason, and just as she landed, she did the splits facing her coach at the end of the beam.
"Nicely done, Kimberly. Now finish strong." Coach Schmidt quickly glanced at his chart, checking something off.
Kimberly lifted her arms above her head and raised her left leg behind her, fully embodying a stretching swan. After holding the arabesque for a few seconds, Kimberly cartwheeled, did a back flip, and leapt, turning once, twice, two-and-a-half times before sticking it on the blue mat below.
Clapping twice, Coach Schmidt dismissed Kimberly for the day.
"See you on Monday, Coach," Kimberly huffed with a quick smile. The man nodded as he watched the next gymnast climb onto the beam.
It was Friday afternoon, and Kimberly was free. She excitedly walked towards Jason with a knowing smile. Jason usually came by the practice rooms on Fridays after his shift, and he could not help but smile at Kimberly's excitement.
"You know, I feel like I'm back in high school at Ernie's Juice Bar." Jason looked at his smoothie pointedly. Kimberly giggled.
"You just need to put on your karate outfit and we can relive the good ol' days." She grabbed a water bottle and started walking toward the girls' locker rooms.
"Ha ha. So, do you have any ideas for dinner? I was thinking all-you-can-eat sushi." Jason leaned against the doorway and raised his eyebrows. "What do you say?"
"Sushi, yes. All-you-can-eat, no. I'll be out in a sec."
Jason laughed to himself. He was always teasing Kimberly about her strict diet, and it was not often that she gave in, even if she did rebuff his all-you-can-eat proposition. He looked at the time. Four thirty. Practice ended early today. Jason spotted a chair nearby and sank into it, working on his smoothie some more.
After Mrs. Hart left, he and Kimberly fell into a rhythm of sorts. From Monday through Thursday, they would do their own thing, with Jason working and going to class and Kimberly going to practice and coaching middle-school gymnastics. On Fridays, Jason would watch her practice and then they would go to dinner. If Jason had a Saturday class, Kimberly would accompany him to school to use the exercise facilities and then they would hang out for the rest of the day. Sometimes they would catch a movie, go to the beach, rent bikes, or drive around and explore Florida. With Kimberly, Jason experienced a simple happiness he had not felt since they became Power Rangers.
Lately, Jason had been thinking about staying in Florida. He always thought that he would return home to California and start a dojo, but he realized there was not much that tethered him to Angel Grove. Jason reflected for a moment. His parents were pillars in his life, true, but he did not need to be near them to draw strength and support from them. Tommy? He had not talked to Tommy in a long time, and being near the current Red Ranger would most likely open old wounds.
Belatedly, Jason realized that Tommy had been coming up in conversations less frequently.
By the time Kimberly walked up to Jason, his thoughts had turned towards Billy, who was not officially a Power Ranger, but was still working with them.
"Hey, what are you thinking about that's got you frowning?" Kimberly rested a hand on his shoulder, her other hand preoccupied with a gym bag. She was wearing Converse, denim shorts, and a soft pink tank top now.
"Oh, just thinking about…home." Jason stood up.
"Do you miss home? It has been a while since you've been back." She walked beside Jason toward the exit and parking lot.
"Yeah, I guess so. But I miss Trini and Zack, too." Jason felt a little guilty for not completely opening up to Kimberly yet. He had not told her his reasons for leaving Europe and staying in Florida. Sometimes, he did not know himself.
Jason gazed at the blue, open sky. How could he bring himself to tell Kimberly about his doubts and feelings when the sun was shining warmly on his skin and being with her made him forget his unhappiness?
"I talked to Trini yesterday." Kimberly's declaration jolted Jason from his thoughts. "She says she and Zack are doing well, and they miss us, too."
Jason nodded. "What's Trini up to nowadays? I know Zack has a job at the Swiss embassy."
"She just got an internship at a law firm. She's interested in human rights in international law." Kimberly gave Jason a sidelong glance.
He narrowed his eyes at her as he opened the door to his red Jeep. "What? I can't ask about my friends?"
"Well, I don't know. It just seems weird that I know more about them than you, and you saw them last." She shrugged and tossed her bag into the backseat.
Jason stared at the rear view mirror as he pulled out of the parking space. "Well maybe I'm not a good long-distance friend." He was wondering where Kimberly was going with this.
"Ok. I can't handle it anymore." Kimberly turned to face him in her seat. Jason looked alarmed. "You need to call Trini, like this weekend. Like maybe tonight."
"Why? Is something wrong?" It would be just his luck to have something happen to her after he left Europe. No matter what he did, he would be letting his friends down, it seemed. First Kimberly, now Trini. Before Jason's thoughts turned darker, Kimberly answered.
"No, Jase, not like that." She sighed and mumbled to herself.
"Then, what?" Jason was genuinely confused now, and thought about pulling over and shaking Kimberly until she told him what was going on.
"She misses you a lot, that's all. You should call her." She bit her lip. It was a sign that she was holding something back.
Jason's arms started tingling at the thought of hearing Trini's voice. He thought about her occasionally, but at the same time, tried to forget her. He was here, trying to figure out his life, and she was over there, already forging a career. It could never be, not with him in another country. Jason thought about Kimberly and Tommy. They didn't work out, and they're in the same country.
Though, Tommy had Power Ranger duties, and Jason did not.
"Why does she want to talk to me now though?" He hoped his nerves did not show.
"I don't know. It's been over half a year now, and you haven't talked to her. She knows you talk to Zack."
Jason groaned inwardly as he made a right-hand turn. Of course, Trini would feel left out. He would talk to Zack and he practically lived with Kimberly, but he made no direct contact with Trini. He always talked through Kimberly or Zack. Jason felt bad, but did not know how else to squelch his feelings for her. He was too busy trying to stop hating himself to have those types of feelings.
"I know. Do you think it will seem contrived if I call her now after all of this time?" He was not sure if he was going to call Trini, yet, but getting an opinion from Kimberly would not hurt.
"Maybe, but she'll be happy to hear your voice either way." Kimberly looked out the window at the passing palm trees.
Jason vaguely wondered if Kimberly knew about his feelings for Trini. Maybe Trini had feelings for him? He had to know now.
"I'll think about it." He turned into the driveway of the sushi restaurant, parking close to the entrance.
"That's all I wanted to hear." She slid out of the passenger seat. Her grin was back. "Now let's eat."
OooooO
Dinner with Kimberly was lighthearted as usual, but Trini tugged at the back of his mind all evening. As they stuffed their mouths with sushi (or maybe that was just Jason), he kept wondering if Kimberly was trying to play international match maker.
After dinner, Kimberly wanted to turn in early, so Jason dropped her off. Right before she closed the door she reminded him to call Trini, so he knew that was the real reason she wanted to leave Jason alone.
Jason stared at the phone on the wall for the better part of an hour before scrambling among some papers to find Trini's number. He took the phone off of the hook and listened to the dial tone. He muttered the digits to himself, dialing with shaky fingers.
"Ugh, what am I doing?" Jason hung up the phone. "I don't even know what I'm going to say!"
Frustrated, Jason flopped onto his mattress. Thinking about Trini made him think about Switzerland. Thinking about Switzerland made him think about why he was not still there, and that in turn made him think about why he left for Switzerland in the first place, almost three years ago.
He missed Trini. And Zack. And Billy, and all the old Rangers and Tommy, too. He missed his old life, fighting with his best friends against evil. While Trini and Zack found ways to fight evil in other ways, Jason was left to fight the demons within himself.
He did feel less burdened now, however. Kimberly was doing better with him around, and somehow, a little bit of her happiness seeped into him.
Perhaps he did not need the Power to direct his life. He really could start a dojo here in Florida or call Trini to see how she was doing. After all, he did not need to pour out his soul to her. He could just say hi.
With a burst of courage, Jason reached for the telephone again, and this time he did not hang up.
Will Jason pursue Trini or fall into step with Kim? :o
Let me know what you think!
