Days of Destiny

by Aiden Vaughan

  It was after nine, and soon the others were getting ready to leave also. As Vincent was leaving, he shook Jason’s hand and said, “Let’s get together and shoot some baskets some time. I’ve never shot hoops with a genuine hero before!”

  “Forget that talk, Vincent!” Jason replied with a laugh. “I’m just a normal guy who got a chance to take down some lowlife predators. But you won’t think me so heroic when I put my medium jumper on you during the game!”

  Vincent put out his fist and gave Jason some knuckles. “You’re the man, Jason. I wouldn’t expect anything less from you!”

  Robert got up and shook Jason’s hand. “It has been a pleasure to meet you, Jason. I am taking a course about organizing and managing community service groups. I think you would make a fascinating guest speaker for the class. I think my fellow students would be blown away by what you have accomplished with your foundation. Would you be willing to come up to Stanford and speak to us?”

  “Sure,” Jason replied. “As long as I can fit it into my schedule at school, I would love to come.” The two exchanged email addresses and cell phone numbers.

  After Robert left the room, Jason looked at Laura, smiled and said, “At last a moment together. How did I do tonight?”

  Laura held Jason’s hand and gave him kiss. “I don’t know why you are even asking that question! You know you did great. Everyone was impressed with you and loved hearing your stories.”

  “So am I officially out of the doghouse for missing the last party?”

  “Jason Hunter, don’t you dare go there!” Laura snapped back. “You know I have apologized over and over again for what happened that night!”

  “I know, babe,” Jason said leaning over a giving Laura a kiss. “I absolutely love the new Laura. But I just wanted to be sure.”

  “Don’t think this will get you off the hook for everything you might want to do in the future!” Laura continued. Then she looked into Jason’s eyes. “But I do thank you for making the party such a success. Now I think I would like to have you all to myself again.” She put her arms around Jason and rested her head on his chest. “Just hold me, Jason. I love feeling your arms around me,” Laura said in a dreamy voice.

  Their time together didn’t last very long. A few minutes later Dorothy Friesen came into the room. “Jason, Laura, our guests are leaving. I know that they would all like to say goodbye to you.”

  “Okay, Mom,” Laura said. “We’ll be right out.”

  As it was a school night, Jason needed to leave as well. After saying goodbyes to the other guests, and thanking the Friesen’s for their hospitality, Jason walked to the front door with Laura. “See you tomorrow, babe. Don’t forget that it’s Valentines Day!”

  “I can’t wait to see you again, love,” Laura replied as she gave him a quick goodbye hug and kiss.

  When Jason arrived home, both his mother and father were watching television in their living room.

  “How was the party?” Edith asked.

  “I think it was a big success,” Jason replied. “I certainly got the look-over from Laura’s family. And you were totally right about the clothes, Mom.” Jason went over to his mother and gave her a hug and kiss on the cheek. “Thank you again for getting me these new things and for the advice.”

  “When it comes to social occasions, your mother always knows what to do!” Bill Hunter said.

  Jason spent a few minutes describing what went on at the dinner party. Then he said, “Can I ask the two of you a favor?”

  “Sure,” Bill Hunter replied. “What is it you would like?”

  “Please don’t schedule one of those parties to show me or Laura off to our friends and family! I am exhausted even thinking about it.”

  Bill and Edith laughed after hearing Jason’s request.

  “Don’t worry about that, Jason,” Bill Hunter said. “You know we like to be informal if we have the choice. Besides everyone in our circle knows all about you already!”

  “The last thing we would ever want to do is make you uncomfortable or show you off as some sort of trophy!” Edith said. “When you are with us, you don’t need to put on a show! We already know how wonderful you are. If other people want to find out about that, all they need to do is get to know you better.”

  “You know, for parents, you are the best!” Jason said with a smile on his face. “That’s why I keep coming back home every day!”

  “Thanks for the kind words,” Bill replied. “As you know, we would be very upset if you didn’t return home every day! Now hit the sack! You have a big week ahead of you and an important game on Thursday.”

  Chapter 12

  Will Love Conquer All?

  (February 14)

  Classes at Merriam High School went by quickly Monday morning. During the passing bells, students were happily exchanging Valentine’s Day cards with their friends. Tim Wilkinson was eager to meet up with his girl friend, Teresa Barnwell. After his fourth period Jazz Band class, he looked around for Teresa. They would normally meet for lunch and hang out with their other friends, but today they wanted to be alone.

  Suddenly Teresa was there, greeting him with a hug and a kiss. After getting some food in the lunch line, they went off to a place behind the music building where they could be together by themselves.

  “I brought you a little gift,” Teresa said after they had eaten their food. She pulled out a heart-shaped box of candy tied with a colorful ribbon.

  Tim smiled as he opened the box, and they tried out several pieces of the chocolates inside the box. “You are always so thoughtful, Teresa. Thank you for remembering Valentine’s Day.” He gave her a kiss and held her hand.

  Teresa had literally saved Tim’s life. A year or so ago, Tim’s life had been spiraling out of control. His parents had gone through a messy divorce, his father had disappeared from his life, and his mother had remarried. Tim did not get along at all with his new stepfather, and took out his anger and resentment not only on his mother and stepfather, but also on his teachers at school. His rude behavior alienated many of his friends in the process. He stopped doing his schoolwork, began cutting classes, started drinking and taking drugs, and behaved defiantly and irresponsibly. Things came to a crisis point between Tim and his mother. Her solution was to send Tim to a boot camp for troubled teens near Yosemite. [Editor’s Note: The complete story of what happened to Tim is contained in the third Hunter & Holmes mystery, When The Chips Are Down.]

  All during this terrible time in Tim’s life, Teresa was one of the few people who stuck by him. She was totally sympathetic to the alienation he was feeling because she had experienced a terrible family breakdown herself. She never knew her father, and at age twelve, her mother decided that she no longer wanted to deal with Teresa, and abandoned her to the foster care system. For someone smart and sensitive, this turn of events was a total shock. Teresa had to quickly grow up, become more hardened, and begin to fend for herself. She began to understand that the most important thing in her life were the few friends she had, and realized that she would have to somehow get an education and obtain some job skills to succeed in life. This was not easy for her with no family to rely on and no financial support.

  When Tim was suddenly spirited away to Camp Chinquapin, Teresa was devastated. The only contact she had with him were weekly letters that Tim was permitted to write. The letters were all carefully censored by the camp authorities, but Tim and Teresa were close enough friends that Tim could write about his true feelings and about what was happening to him in a kind of code. She understood that when Tim would write about how much he was enjoying doing an activity at the camp that he normally disliked doing, he was actually saying how he hated the treatment he was receiving and how he was trying to fight back. Tim would also write about things they had discussed together at one time or another to send messages to her about conditions at the camp.

  When the letters suddenly stopped coming, and word was sent from the camp that Tim was being sent to “anger managem
ent training”, Teresa realized that Tim was in serious trouble. At this time, Tim’s mother refused to have anything to do with Teresa, considering her to be a bad influence on her son. Teresa then turned to the only person she knew about who she thought could help Tim, Jason Hunter.

  Tim’s sensational rescue from “anger management training”, which turned out to be nothing more than an abusive prison, designed to completely break his sprit, was a major turning point in Tim’s life. And after he learned all of the details of how and why he was rescued, Tim understood that he owed his life to Teresa. They continued to remain close. Tim’s life had completely turned around in the past year. He was now living with his father, a contractor, who built a lower level recording studio for Tim in their house. Tim had cleaned up his life, was involved with music again, returned to school — apologizing to the teachers and friends he had alienated — and even eventually reconciled with his mother.

  Jason also helped Teresa out. He gave her a portion of some reward money he had received from another case, so she could have many of the things that other teenagers took for granted. For the first time in her life, Teresa could buy brand new clothing, have her hair styled, and afford makeup. She was able to buy a car and pay for gas and insurance. Best of all, she had Tim’s love and devotion.

  Just as the bell was about to ring for their fifth period classes, Tim told Teresa, “Meet me right after school. I have a special Valentine’s gift for you, but I didn’t want to give it to you at school. It’s over at my house.”

  After classes were over, Teresa drove Tim over to his house. Tim’s father was not there, apparently out on a job. That was fine by Tim. He wanted to be alone with Teresa anyway. They went downstairs, where the studio was located along with Tim’s bedroom. After he had Teresa sit down, Tim went and grabbed a gift-wrapped, square box. “This is for you, Teresa. Happy Valentine’s Day!”

  Inside the box was a beautiful Valentine’s Day card and a wooden model house that had a night light inside. The message on the card read, “This house is just a reminder that you always have a home with me, Teresa. I know you are stuck in the foster care system until you are eighteen, but when you are away from me, turn this on at night. Remember that someday our dream of living together will become true! Love, Tim.”

  Tears came to Teresa’s eyes as she read the sentiment in the card, and thought over its implications. “This is the most wonderful present anyone has ever given me, Tim! I will treasure this little house! You can bet on that!” She went over to Tim, gave him a kiss, and said, “Hold me in your arms, Tim. I love you so much!”

  * * *

  Over in another part of the Merriam campus, Eric Acosta was looking around for his girl friend, Rebecca. Rebecca worked as a volunteer tutor to help other students who were having trouble with their classes. Many times, she did tutoring during the lunch break, because it was convenient for the students she helped. As Eric was arriving at the help center, he saw Rebecca standing in front of the door.

  “Rebecca!” Eric shouted out. “I thought you were going to tutor me today!”

  Rebecca looked back at Eric and smiled. “I didn’t think you needed help with your classes, a big strong swimmer like yourself!”

  Eric looked at her a little surprised, and said, “But it’s Valentine’s Day!”

  Rebecca came up to Eric, gave him a little kiss, and held his hand. “I know. Maybe you need some tutoring after all!”

  “Come on, Becky,” Eric replied. “Let’s go have lunch together.” The two strolled over to a nearby bench and sat down. Eric always brought his own lunch. His Aunt Marilyn insisted on making him lunch every day, and Eric had no objections, since it was always very good. Today she had packed a tuna salad sandwich, chips, fruit, and some chocolate Hershey’s kisses. Rebecca’s mother did the same for her. Today she had packed a couple of tortilla wraps, sliced vegetables, and a nice chocolate brownie.

  “Would you like a kiss?” Eric asked.

  Rebecca turned and gave him a peck on the face. “Always, Eric!” she smiled.

  “I meant a Hershey’s kiss,” he said handing her a couple of the foil wrapped chocolates.

  “I think I like Eric kisses better,” she said smiling at him. “But I never turn down a little chocolate treat!”

  The two talked about school things while they ate their food. Rebecca ended up sharing some of her brownie with Eric. “Um, that was delicious,” Eric said as he ate his half of the brownie. “Now be sure to meet me at the end of fifth period. I have something special for you before I have to go off to swimming practice.”

  “And I have something for you, Eric,” Rebecca replied. “Let’s meet at your van. Then you won’t have to carry it around campus.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Eric said. He held Rebecca’s hand for a while, while she rested her head on his chest. “I wish we could spend some more time together today.”

  “Don’t you need some help with your math homework?” Rebecca said smiling with a wink in her eye.

  “Oh, yeah, I guess I do!” Eric responded, picking up on her cue. “Let’s get together after dinner for an hour or so. Maybe we could do some calculations together!”

  Eric and Rebecca had a comfortable and loving relationship from the first moment they met. That was on the worst day of Eric’s life. He was back at his aunt and uncle’s house, recovering from being kidnapped by his abusive stepfather and the discovery that his mother was dead, killed most likely during an argument with Eric’s stepfather. Although her death was ruled accidental, Eric had no doubts that her fall onto the sharp edge of a countertop in their kitchen happened while she was trying to prevent Fernando from finding out where he was staying. Unfortunately, calls on their telephone bill pointed directly to his Aunt Marilyn Ferreira’s house.

  Like Eric, Rebecca was also new in town. Her parents, who were friends with the Friesen’s, had just moved to the Silicon Valley, and that day she was spending some time with Laura and Diana. The three girls came over to the Ferreira’s house, which helped to cheer everyone up. Eric and Rebecca immediately established a connection. Rebecca’s heart melted when she saw this attractive and troubled teenager who had just been through a horrific ordeal. And Eric was so grateful to meet someone new, who instinctively understood how to make him feel at ease. It was love at first sight, as the cliché goes. But it truly was; the two had been an item ever since.

  Last summer, Rebecca’s father announced that they might have to move again; he was in line for a promotion at the international banking firm where he worked. Eric was beside himself with worry. He vowed to follow Rebecca wherever she went. He was very upset with Rebecca’s parents, and Rebecca was unhappy about the prospect of having to leave Eric.

  At first Rebecca’s father wasn’t moved by her pleas to figure out a way to stay where they were. Then he thought about the number of times that he had uprooted his family for career moves. He had a long talk with the president of the company, and agreed to take on an important overseas position that would be opening up in two years if he and his family could stay where they were until after Rebecca finished high school.

  Both Eric and Rebecca were greatly relieved when they heard that news. After that, Eric had even greater success at Merriam High. He became a star on the swimming team, setting several records in recent swim meets. His bass playing with the school jazz band and with Daniel’s band continued to improve. Like Eric, Rebecca became more outgoing and assured. Community service became important to her; she began peer tutoring at school and doing volunteer work at a shelter for homeless families. With so many activities to occupy their time, their times together were often very limited during the school year.

  After fifth period classes had ended, Eric met with Rebecca at his van. He handed her a large odd shaped package. When she unwrapped the gift, it looked like a large rock, but was made of papier mâché.

  “What is this?” Rebecca asked. “It looks like some sort of rock formation.”

  “Well, in
a way it is,” Eric told her. “Read the card, Becky!”

  Inside the red, heart-shaped card, Eric had written, “You are the rock that my life is built on, Rebecca. I don’t know how I could survive without you! Love, Eric.” After reading the card, she turned and gave him a kiss.

  “What a wonderful sentiment, Eric. How thoughtful of you!”

  Eric replied, “It’s more than just a rock. Shake it and then look inside!”

  Rebecca discovered that there was a lid to the “rock”, and inside it was filled with all kinds of fruit flavored hard candies, her favorites.

  “Some sweets for my sweetheart!” Eric exclaimed with a big smile on his face.

  Rebecca then handed Eric a gift-wrapped oblong box. “I bet I know what’s in this package,” Eric said as he tore off the wrapping. Inside was a brand new pair of navy blue high top chucks, Eric’s favorite sneakers, which he wore constantly.

  This gift was another example of how Rebecca cared for Eric. When Eric was still living with his abusive stepfather, one of the forms of abuse he suffered was that his stepfather would never provide any money for decent sneakers or shoes for Eric. He insisted that Eric go around the house barefoot, and wearing just a pair of trunks or shorts. Most of the time Eric had only a pair of cheap flip-flops to wear to school. Some of the kids at Eric’s school began making fun of him, calling him “Eric Flip-flops.”

  That all changed after Jason and Daniel were called to intervene in Eric situation, after the abuse became violent and Eric had withdrawn from communicating with all adults. One of the first things that Jason did for Eric was to purchase a brand new wardrobe of proper clothing for him. Blue high top chucks were a part of that wardrobe. They became his favorite footwear, and Eric would wear nothing else. Unlike the other members of the swim and water polo teams, Eric absolutely refused to ever wear flip-flops, because he had a phobia about them after the horrible experiences he had.