Chapter 15

"I think he's got something up his sleeve about Sandy," Winona said as she sat in the lobby with Evelyn Sloane one evening.

"Who?" Evelyn asked.

"Paul."

"Paul who? Oh wait, the young man at the end of the hall on our floor?"

"That's the one," Winona nodded. "He's been seeing an awful lot of her and Tyler's even told me they seem to be--how can I say this?--very close."

"He's dating Sandra?" Evelyn wondered.

"Looks that way."

"Oh my. Well, I will say this much, Winona; Sandra is a far improvement over that last girl he brought here from time to time. You know, the one with the striped hair and looked like something that came right off a street corner?"

"Yeah, I know who you mean. And Sandy is also a bit more mature and is very nice to him," Winona replied. "You know, for as little as we see that man, even though Paul seems to have a few screws loose, I cannot remember a time when he has been so giddy as he has been since Sandy and Tyler came here."

"Yes, and come to think of it, I've also noticed a little change in Sandra."

"Me too. But I have to wonder how Tyler feels about all of this? I mean, it's just been him and his mother for the longest time, and now there is this other man in her life."

"He doesn't seem to be too upset," Evelyn pointed out.

"Well, sometimes teenagers tend to hide things. I can speak from experience with raising one myself. Janice was nice to some of my dates to their faces, but would become a total different person once they were gone. 'That one is a gold digging bum,' 'that guy looks like a he could be a child molester,' 'that man you went out with last night was nasty looking and smelled funky,' or some kind of thing. There is just no pleasing that girl sometimes."

"There's never pleasing them really, Winona. They're worried that their parent is trying to replace the other."

"I know, and I've told Janice many times that though I need to get on with my life, there is no way her father could ever be replaced. I'd also like to think that Sandy has told Tyler pretty much the same."

Evelyn nodded. "I can tell you for sure that she's made it clear that if she ended up with a man long term, that man had to also accept her son. Out of all things, Tyler is number one with her."

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"Are you serious?!" Tyler asked his mother.

"I don't think I could be more serious, but yes, we are going to be Paul's guests next Monday night," Sandy replied.

"WOW! This is going to be totally awesome!"

"Yes it is, but at the same time, you need to remember to conduct yourself as a young gentleman, stay out of everyone's way and not bother anything unless you are told it's okay."

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Mom; I know. I'm not a kid anymore. But what will I do with my ticket I got in the meantime?"

"Well, you can at least give it to Janice. Winona's going to be bowling that night, we'll be gone, so she'll be by herself otherwise."

"Yeah, that's a great idea! Then I can meet up with her, Jesse and Adam afterwards."

"That's the spirit," Sandy smiled.

"And maybe get some autographs and stuff."

"That's fine, but only if no one is busy. Don't be bothering anyone while they're eating or on the phone."

"Mom, come on, are you going to lecture me all day?"

"I'm just putting sense into you like most mothers would."

"It's supposed to be nice this weekend," Tyler said, changing the subject. "So you guys doing anything else besides going out Friday night?"

"Come to think of it, Paul did mention something about swimming in one of the lakes around town or in the natural springs sometime over the weekend."

"Wow, that sounds pretty fun."

"It's one of his favorite pastimes," Sandy laughed.

"You should try it," Tyler encouraged. "You didn't have anything planned anyway, did you?"

"Not really, since you're going to the mall with the boys Saturday."

"So there you go," he nodded with a wink. "You and Paul can get back to nature together."