The Ties That Bind

by T. Starnes

  I templed my fingers against my lips in thought before responding, “I can see how this idea could really help the world, and that alone makes me want to support it. But, we also need to look to the financial aspects. Do you think this could be financially viable?”

  “In some areas, yes I think it would be very viable. Governments like your own and Australia's will go for it, as they are already concerned with the available water. In other areas, like Africa, the initial build costs will be too much for them, I believe.”

  “Okay, we can deal with that when we get there. I am sold on the idea. What do you need, to make this happen?”

  “Well, at first I need to build a small version of the process, to work out the practicalities in my initial theory. I do not believe this stage would be very expensive. The next stage would be to build a full scale test facility. That would be expensive, but could be used to show our process works.”

  I turned to Marcus, “Have you talked to Ted about this?”

  “Yesterday,” he replied, “he said he was on board if you were.”

  “Ok, I am signing off on stage one. Let’s build up the test version of it. If that works, get the patents cleared.”

  I stood up and reached my hand out to the engineer, “Ronald, I am looking forward to seeing what you can do.”

  He shook my hand, looking both excited and eager. He was digging through papers as Marcus and I made our way to Ted’s office.

  Ted looked up when we came in and said, “Cas, good to see you. Did you get a chance to go talk to Ronald?”

  “Yep, I sure did. I am on board with doing the initial phase of his project and seeing if it is viable. If he can make it work like he thinks, this could be good for us. Actually, this brings up something else I wanted to talk about.”

  Ted put down his papers and looked concerned, “Is there something the matter, Cas?”

  I held my hands out in stop motion as I said, “No, nothing is wrong. I just wanted to talk about the direction of the company and some other stuff that was going on in my life.”

  “First off, I love that we managed to get this company started and I have high hopes for our drone project. But this new project, something that could help a lot of people, is really what I am excited about doing. I have started a charitable organization that I hope to use to help people, both in large projects and individuals in a one on one basis.”

  “Making money is great, and I am all for it. Honestly, I have no problem producing military hardware; but, if possible, I would really like for us to keep our eyes out for projects that will help people.”

  Marcus looked over at Ted, who was tapping a pen in thought, waiting for him to respond.

  Eventually Ted said, “I applaud the idea, Cas, but I am not sure that is practical. It’s hard to pick a field and target ideas in that field. You generally need engineers who are expert in whatever that specialty is. It's why my company focuses on such a specific area.”

  “I get that, Ted, I really do. And I am not saying we should change the direction of the company. But so many engineers have these ideas floating around their heads that they are dying to work on. Look at Marcus and his drones, or Ronald and his desalinization thing. Both are projects divorced from what they do on a daily basis. I think we should foster this, and make it known we are more apt to support projects that have a humanitarian angle. Ted, how much do you know about 3M?”

  “Some. We do work with them from time to time; and, of course, we use a lot of their products.”

  “They have this thing they call innovation time. They let their engineers spend fifteen percent of their time working on their own projects. If those projects seem viable, they often pick them up and take them on as an official project. We have several engineers working on the drones, and if Ronald’s thing takes off we will have more. I know it will cost us some money, and slow down some of our work, but I want us to let engineers use between ten and twenty percent of their time working on stuff like this. Getting those ideas they have out into the world. What do you think?”

  Ted started tapping his pen again, “I need a little time to digest this, since it is so much different than what I am used to. Marcus, what do you think?”

  “I love it. I know I have always had ideas I wanted to work on, but didn’t have the time or felt like I should focus on something else. I am completely for this plan,” Marcus replied.

  Ted stopped tapping and looked back at me, “Ok, I guess I am for it, too. We will let the engineers know about the new policy. They don’t have to work on other stuff; but, if they want to, they can spend up to fifteen percent of their time on it. I just hope this doesn’t backfire on us.”

  I shrugged as I agreed, “Me too, Ted … me too.”

  When I got home, I was still thinking over stuff at work and it took me a second to notice the collection of people at the kitchen table. I knew they were taking Emily out this afternoon, to do something; but I didn’t expect to see my girls, Megan and Emily, all gathered around the table, chatting.

  When they noticed me the girls all gave me big grins while Emily stopped talking immediately and looked down at her hands. I was happy to see how animated she looked right before she noticed me, however. As I sat down I saw all three of my girls looking at me expectantly. Clearly they were plotting again.

  I reached across the table and put my hand on top of Emily’s, getting her to look up at me.

  “Did you guys have a good time, today?”

  She looked over at Vicki then back at me and nodded. She started to look down at the table again when Zoe nudged her.

  She looked back up, seemed to steel herself, and said, “It was a lot of fun. We went to the mall and looked at a bunch of stuff, and we ate at the food court.”

  By the time she finished speaking, she was smiling ear to ear. This was by far the most exuberant I had seen her, and it looked good on her. I gave her hand a squeeze, and noticed her eyes dart to the clock. She pulled her hands out of mine and jumped up.

  “Oh, my god! It’s so late. I need to get home, right now.”

  Megan stood up and put a hand on her elbow, “I will drop you off on my way home.”

  She got halfway to the door before turning around, and running back to me. She crushed me with a hug. I hugged her back and felt her trembling beneath my arms. She always wore slightly baggy clothes and I had never realized how thin she was. She felt delicate, even fragile. All too quickly, she pulled out of my arms and ran out the door.

  I was watching the closed door when I felt arms encircling me from all sides.

  “We really like her,” Zoe said as she pressed into my right side.

  Tami, to my left, said, “You’re right, though. She has something bad going on in her life. She wouldn’t talk about her family, and when we were trying on clothes I saw some really nasty bruises.”

  I looked down at Tami, “Do you think she is being abused at home?”

  She shook her head yes, “Yeah, I do. Putting together her bruises, how shy she is around guys, and the way she avoids saying stuff about her family, I would bet on it.”

  I extracted myself from their grip and motioned for everyone to sit down.

  “I said at our last meeting we would talk about it before you three started plotting to add a new girl to my … umm …”

  “Harem,” Vicki supplied helpfully.

  “Anyway,” I said, pointedly ignoring her, “it seems like you girls have started plotting again.”

  They all passed looks back and forth before Zoe said, “You’re right, we are plotting. We like her a lot. She is so sweet and funny. Once you get her away from guys she can really talk. And she really likes you; she asked so many questions about you.”

  “What? We only talked a few times. Why would she want to know about me?”

  Zoe gave me the ‘you are so dumb’ look before replying, “Cas, she avoids talking to guys, totally. Her only consistent male interactions are probably her father, and if what we suspect is tr
ue, those aren’t positive interactions. And then you ride up on your white horse, and are caring and sweet, and treat her like she is special. Of course she is interested in you!”

  “Well, I know you three want to get her added to our little group, and I know you like to move fast. I will say, I am not against it. Surprisingly, I find myself really drawn to her, as well. But, and I want to make sure you all hear me on this,” I stopped to make eye contact with each girl.“ We need to get her some kind of help, for whatever is causing her to be so bruised all the time. First let’s help her, then you can return to your plotting. Okay?”

  I got a bunch of murmured replies, and was under no illusion they would actually listen to me. I just hoped I could refocus their relentless energy and scheming, to something more productive.

  They let it drop, and we went about the rest of our day. The rest of the week followed the normal school day patterns, with only the marathon training I had started to do with Andrea, and spending extra time with Emily standing out.

  I did notice what looked like fresh bruises on Emily the day after the shopping outing with the girls, but she dodged my questions and I eventually let it drop. I was happy that she became steadily more open and talkative as the week wore on, although she still refused to move over to our regular lunch table.

  Some of the guys at the table started asking why I was leaving my girlfriends alone to go sit with Emily, but Vicki quickly shut them down, making it clear this was an authorized activity by them.

  As Friday rolled around, all three girls were getting excited as it was time for the next date night. This time it was Tami and I together, and Vicki and Zoe headed off to do their own thing. All four of us were starting to look forward to date night.

  I had to stop by work on the way home, and I took longer than expected. While it was still in the early stages, Ronald’s project was one more thing to keep an eye on. I was walking out to the house just as Zoe and Vicki were walking out. Both were dressed casually but looked very nice.

  “Headed out for your date,” I asked as I gave each of them a kiss.

  “Yep,” Zoe replied, looking immensely happy, “you two have fun.”

  They giggled as they ran to the waiting car. I couldn’t see who was driving it, but assumed it was one of the people who worked for Vicki’s family. I was expecting to find Tami also dressed up and ready to go out, but was surprised to find her sitting barefoot at the table wearing the same jeans and t-shirt she wore to school.

  I sat next to her and said, “Aren’t we going out tonight?”

  She shook her head, “Nope. For our date I want to spend it here. Mrs. B is out working with Alex so we have the house to ourselves. I am going to cook us dinner, and then we are going to watch a movie.”

  I gave her a perplexed look, “Don’t you want to do something special.”

  She stood up and slid into my lap, putting her arms around my head, “This is special, to me. I want to take care of my man.”

  I smiled back at her, “You already take care of me more than I deserve.”

  She hopped up and started working around the kitchen. While she cooked, I just sat and watched her work. The feeling of having someone doing something so … domestic for me, really warmed my heart. As she cooked Tami started softly humming a song I didn’t recognize.

  It took some time but she finished making dinner and put a plate in front of both of our spots. She gave me a quick kiss then sat down to start eating.

  “You are really amazing, you know that?”

  I got a huge smile for my compliment before she decided to demur.

  “It’s nothing. Anyone could make dinner.”

  “It’s not nothing. Sure anyone could make dinner, but it wouldn’t be the same. Your happiness is infectious.”

  “That’s because this is what I was meant to do.”

  There seemed to be something in the way she said that which meant more than the words themselves, so I hesitated for a second.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know if you realized it yet or not, but everyone close to you is starting to plan out their lives around you… around what we can be for you.”

  “What do you mean ‘what you can be for me?’”

  “Cas, you are the most important person in the world to us. Not just Zoe, Vicki and me, but Alex, Megan … everyone close enough to you to know what is really happening. We have all started planning our futures based around it. Did you know Megan changed her planned major for college, next year?”

  “No.”

  “She had planned on being a teacher, but she is switching to engineering so she can help you in your company.”

  “That is a pretty big change.”

  “Yea, but she has always been good at math and after being altered she should be able to handle it. Zoe knows she wants to do something around computers, and is trying to figure out how to make that work for you. Vicki has started reading on non-profits, and wants to make an impact with Evolve.”

  “Huh. I had no idea. What about you?”

  “I want to do this.”

  “This?”

  “This. Taking care of the family. Not just us, but some day there are going to be a lot of kids. There have to be, actually, if we are going to move your genetic line forward. I plan on being the one to stay home with them.”

  “You don’t have to do that Tami. We can figure out something when that day comes. Don’t you want to …”

  “You don’t get it, Cas. This is what I want to do. I told you a little about my family, the way I was raised. The church came first, the kids came second. We were an afterthought, a way to make the church grow. I don’t want our kids to grow up that way. I want them to know that they are loved and cherished for themselves, and not as a means to an end.”

  “There is a real danger they could be seen as just the next step in your plan, and that isn’t fair to them. So I plan on being the one to stay with them, and focus on them.”

  “Wow, you are something else, Tami.”

  She just smiled and held my hand before she went back to eating.

  “A change of subject. I am not going to be around for Christmas.”

  “What?”

  “I know. I really want to be, but there is a church revival, every year. My parents insist Judy and I go. They have been lenient this year with all the time I spend over here, so I kinda owe them not to fight going for Christmas.”

  “I can see that. As long as it means you can spend so much time with us the rest of the year, then I am good. I will miss you, though.”

  “I know, me too.”

  We finished the rest of diner making idle chit-chat, but it was hard not thinking about Tami being gone over Christmas. It had only been a few months since I was shot and she joined our little group, but I couldn’t imagine spending time without her now.

  After dinner I helped her wash up the dishes. We were constantly touching and caressing each other at every opportunity, turning the domestic chore into almost foreplay. When we were finished, I was ready to grab her and run upstairs. Instead, I opted for a little more decorum as we walked up to the second bedroom, hand in hand. I wanted to leave our normal room for Zoe and Vicki when they got home.

  Later that evening I was roused out of sleep by a hand pushing on my shoulder, and a soft kiss on my cheek. Tami was still tucked up tightly against my other side, so I knew it wasn’t her. I cracked on eye open to see Zoe standing over me.

  “Come join us in bed, and bring our girlfriend. We miss you.”

  I didn’t say anything, but instead slid out of bed and picked up a sleeping Tami. She was pretty zonked out and only murmured a bit as I cradled her in my arms. Once back in our room, I lay Tami down next to Vicki. As soon as she was out of my arms, she seemed to instinctively turn and snuggle into Vicki, letting out a little sigh.

  I moved in behind Zoe, and spooned against her. I started to close my eyes and go back to sleep, knowing I needed some more rest before the
marathon in the morning, when Zoe’s voice stopped me.

  “Tami told you she is going to be out of town for Christmas?”

  “Yeah, and I get why, but it will be sad not to have her with us.”

  “Yeah, I know. Actually, there is more. Vicki is going to be out of town, too. Her parents planned a ski vacation. She invited us, but we also have plans.”

  “We do?”

  “Yeah. Mom wants us to go visit Grandma. She is getting pretty old, and we don’t know how many more opportunities we will have. Mom already said you should come with us.”

  “Aww, man, I can’t. We are going to have the prototype ready the next week. I need to stick around for that.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. There is no way I can be out of town for an extended time. Where is she?”

  “Florida.”

  “That’s too far to go just for Christmas day. How long are you going to be gone?”

  “A week, I think.”

  I rolled and lay down fully looking at the ceiling, “This sucks. There is no way I can go with you.”

  Zoe turned around and put her head on my shoulder, “I’m sorry, Cas. We didn’t plan it this way. I think Mom and I just assumed you would go with us.”

  I gently rubbed her back, “I know, I am not blaming you. You should go see your grandmother while you can. Family is important.”

  “I just don’t want to leave you all alone on Christmas.”

  “I'll be okay. I'll have work to distract me.”

  “Well, we will think of something.”

  I wasn’t sure what she meant, but there was nothing to be done. I really did believe that it was important they spend time with their families over the holidays. Just because I couldn’t disappear for a week, didn’t mean they should have to stay, too. Still, I would miss them.