The Heart of Tony Winters

by P. S. Power

  The cleanup from the meal went fast, since everyone cleared their own plate. He had to clean the kitchen after that, but it wasn’t hard to do. Then he ran to Rick’s office, to look up some recipes. That had to be done quickly, since Janine was going to be waiting for him in the side room, he was willing to bet.

  Except that when he jogged in, a full five minutes early, she wasn’t there at all. So he waited. After twenty minutes he walked to the office, found her number in the computer and called her cell phone. He half expected her to not answer, due to the car accident that had put her in the hospital, but she picked up after the second ring.

  Sounding alive and everything.

  “Hello, this is Janine.”

  “Hi Janine! This is Tony? Um. Tony Winters? You know that strange kid that you have a one o’clock tutoring session with? Unless you’re firing me? I swear, I did the reading you assigned.”

  There was silence for a moment, then a chuckle.

  “Ah. I was told not to bother you for at least a week after the fight if you lost. Something about hating the world and a deep depression? Your uncle mentioned something like that to me last Friday.”

  “Which means that you at least bothered to check in on the fight? That’s better than I would have figured on, I know you hate this stuff.”

  There was a sigh.

  “I do. My husband had some work friends over for it. Which means I’m scarred for life, seeing the sweet, intelligent boy I know doing things like that. You’re all right, though? Not depressed or anything like that? I… To me it looked like you were hitting him more often than the other way around. I don’t understand things like that really.”

  He nodded. That was probably hard for some people.

  “It’s a power level thing. I was hitting him. Got a decent hold or two and all that. Each time he hit me it hurt more. So things were kind of graded on a curve?” He thought that was the right phrase.

  “Oh? Well, as long as you’re doing well. In that case, why not take some time off? You aren’t behind or anything. You might do some practice math problems to stay mentally sharp, but other than that things should be fine, as long as you don’t lose anything taking too long of a break.”

  That was a real thing, he knew. It was why he’d gone running. That it might work for his brain as well just made sense.

  “Got it. I’ll do that. Well…” That left him at loose ends, again. Then, Jen and Rick would need lunch and it was hard to order out, if you had strict dietary needs. Steve and Ashley were in the same boat. For that matter, Cameraman and Sandy would need something as well. Thinking about that he basically remade lunch for six people, then liberated several bowls with lids so that he could deliver the food while it was still more or less hot. This time he also made a gravy like sauce for the wheat. It was a bit late when he got in, being after two, which meant that Sandy and Len, the camera man, were already gone. Steve as well.

  The others weren’t actively on the phone however, so he made up plates for them, setting the table. Then he sat as they all came in, working out that it was a good time to eat.

  Rick smiled at it.

  “Thank you, Tony. Did Janine let you go early?”

  “She was told not to show up for a week if I lost? So I get time off for a bit. I have no clue what I’m supposed to do.”

  His uncle nodded then, looking directly at Jen.

  “I do seem to recall that one, now that you mention it. Oops? Well, no problem. We have people coming in for Thanksgiving next week. I… Is that all right? Adam mentioned that it would be good to see you, so I sort of said I’d run the idea past you? Actually, he wanted you to go to him, but that doesn’t work for the rest of us, so I wore him down. I think we get your buddy Sally, as well?”

  She was a fighter, as well as a giant flirt. Still, he could handle her for a day or two.

  “That works. I was thinking I should get with Missy Holms. Unless she doesn’t need that anymore? That’s cool of course if it’s the case. Otherwise I have kind of a program worked out for her. Either will work.” She hadn’t gone back to fighting that Tony had heard of and it was the kind of thing that would be talked about, if it happened. Instead of saying anything, Rick just pulled his phone, right at the table and spoke while they ate.

  “Hey Tod. Rick Winters here. I was just talking to Tony and he has some time in his schedule, if Missy still wants to drop by? We can host her here for a few days?”

  There was talking then, but after a few minutes Rick nodded, fork still in hand.

  “Great then. Tomorrow it is. No problem.”

  Tony nodded then, getting that he was about to have something else to do at least.

  To his mind, that was actually a good thing. After all, if he wasn’t earning his keep, there would be no real reason to keep him around.

  Chapter five

  Tony, armed with several new recipes that weren’t that hard to make, started dinner about an hour before his date was going to be at the house. Just doing that was enough to have Rick and Jen moving out of the place. They were just going to the gym, though it was clear both of them thought he was being cute for some reason. Acting like he was older than he was or something. Even if normal guys his age went on dates and did things with girls on occasion.

  Still, it was clear that they meant well.

  That part surprised him a bit, to be honest. Not that he let himself dwell on it for a long time. It was kind of nice anyway. For most of his life Anthony had kind of been on his own. His mother had been there, as in, near the building they were living in. Off and on. Deidre had never really been there for him, however. She’d made a point of letting him know that he’d been a rock tied around her neck for his entire life. Dragging her down as she nobly struggled to keep her head above water.

  Except of course, it hadn’t really been that way.

  Rick though, his uncle, who owed him nothing at all, was better than that. Even Jen was. Anthony had just kind of shown up on their doorstep one day. Then they’d stepped up, from the very first moments, making sure that he had a real family. It had taken him months to kind of understand what they were doing that way. Nearly half a year for him to feel kind of safe there, actually believing that they weren’t going to cut him loose, or leave him to fend for himself in a drug house.

  Even if he did weird things, like asking them to leave for the night so he could get to know a girl that he’d just met. Which was yet another thing that was impressive. Neither of them gave him a safe sex speech, or suggested that he not do anything with her at all. He didn’t intend to that night, sure, but they seemed to trust him to do the right thing.

  Even that he kind of understood.

  After all, Tony had only done what was needed the entire time they’d known him. His act of being helpful and kind had really worked. So much so, for so long that it was just the truth now.

  “Because that’s the way Tony rolls. Being so good that no one would ever doubt him. Not if they know him first.” Anyone listening would think that he was talking about himself in the third person, which he really was.

  It was only an act, except that now he wasn’t really certain of that any more. He’d become Tony, after a fashion. A good person that was going to always do the right thing, work hard and be conscientious. That didn’t get him laid, maybe, but Anthony, sitting in the back of his own head, knew that wasn’t going to be that hard to manage over time. Even for a nice guy like him.

  Rather than make him wait for her, Sandy showed up at six sharp. Dressed up a bit. In a tight black dress that hugged her body. It wasn’t exactly fine eveningwear, the fabric being heavy for that, but she’d clearly taken pains to look nice. He felt happy that he’d dressed up a little himself. His shirt was nice, if not new and, button up. His black slacks looked like he actually cared about things enough not to put on old jeans or something.

  As he looked at her, standing in the door, he felt himself smile.

  “Hey! Come in. I should have the food read
y in a few minutes.”

  The girl, looking a bit round through the face, was a lot thinner through the rest of her body. The form fitting dress showed that. Not that he was judging anyone based on their looks. Even if he kind of considered it on some level. Admitting that she was cute wasn’t exactly a grand epiphany or anything to him. Then, a lot of women were pretty. He’d known that part about her earlier.

  A date then, would be about finding out the rest of her story. Seeing if she were a nice person, not just a pretty face. For instance, she was the kind of person that took things seriously enough with him to put on a dress for their first date.

  She smiled at him.

  “I don’t even smell any smoke yet. That takes skill. I shouldn’t tell you this, but I can’t really cook at all. What are we having?”

  Letting her in, closing the door behind her gently, he grinned.

  “Hot dogs on stale buns, corn chips from a smooshed and crumpled bag and half a gallon of melted ice cream.” That was a joke, but she nodded as if he were being serious.

  “Sounds great.”

  The thing there was that she actually sounded like she meant it. That nearly had him worrying for a moment, since he wasn’t doing any of those things at all.

  “Oooorrrr…” Tony tried to seem like it was a good thing, making a point of opening his eyes to show he was playing. “Parmesan chicken, a fresh tossed salad with creamy garlic dressing and fresh bread rolls? I made it all from scratch. As long as we’re counting me heating the rolls in the oven as being homemade. They came from a package so…”

  Sandy set her purse down by the door. It was brown and didn’t match what she was wearing at all. Then, she was in a different city than her home was, doing sound work for a sports network. Odds were she hadn’t come to town ready for a date with him either, so the fact that she had a dress with her at all was impressive enough.

  There was a head shake then, her blonde wavy hair moving a bit.

  “See? Now I have to go around being extra impressed with you. Is there anything you can’t do? Pro-MMA fighter, you help train boxers on the side, work as a cardio coach for high level athletes and you cook? Do you do windows? If so, I’ll marry you.” It was a joke, if a little awkward feeling. Hesitant.

  Shrugging, he led her toward the dining room. The table was already set for two. He’d even put out some long white taper candles, since they had them in a drawer and Jen had mentioned that it would be romantic. It was probably over the top, but he’d already been cooking, which was kind of showing off. Then, he didn’t have a driver’s license, or a car, so taking her out would have been a bit awkward. This was better than having Rick drive them. Though it was kind of clear that Sandy had driven there herself, which was neat, really.

  “I’ve never done windows, but I do have a part time gig at the gym passing out fluffy towels and mopping sweat from the floor. So that’s kind of close. How about you? Sound tech woman for a real news team? That’s cool, right?” He waved at the table. “Here, have a seat? I should be able to bring things out to the table about now.”

  She settled in the chair that he’d pointed at, smiling as he took a moment to use a lighter to get the candles going.

  Then he had to run from the room, to keep things from burning. It worked and with a few fast movements Tony was back at the table, loading it up with food. He’d made enough for two people, but not more than that. Hopefully it would be plenty. It was kind of rich though, being that he put out some whipped, butter to go along with the whole thing, as well as some sparkling white grape juice. It looked impressive, though he did catch her checking the label out. Probably making sure he wasn’t going to get her drunk so he could take advantage of her.

  Her words were nicer than that. Her expression had been too though, when she’d realized what was there.

  “This looks wonderful. I’d actually been thinking we were going to have frozen dinners in front of the T.V.” She let him serve her, getting the plate ready, trying to place the food so it would look nice, not just dumping things in front of her. Then, attempting not to act like he was ten, Tony carefully poured her a wine glass full of juice. It should at least look close to correct. The scent was nothing like wine. He was used to that. This was sweet and pleasant, which was better in a lot of ways.

  After getting his own and sitting across from her, he realized that they should dim the lights. That meant getting back up, then finding the right balance, so they weren’t really sitting in the dark. The living room lights through the door worked well for that part. There was no music, but he couldn’t think of how to make that happen at the moment.

  Sandy didn’t seem to mind, just grinning wildly.

  “Perfect. This is really nice. Thanks.” She took a bite of the chicken, the red sauce on the top changing color in the candle light. “Okay… Wow… This is really good!”

  “Thanks.”

  They just ate for a few minutes, then there was a soft shrug from across the way.

  “My Uncle Bill got me this job. It’s…” She stopped then, taking a sip of the fake champagne. “You know the Make-A-Wish things for dying kids?”

  He blinked, but had to shake his head.

  “No? I’ve lived a bit of a strange life, so I don’t… There are things that I’ve missed.”

  “Yeah? Okay. Well, sometimes when kids are going to die they get to have a wish fulfilled. It’s kind of like, you know, trips to Disneyland, or being a cop for a day. Whatever they want, within reason. So… Um… Well, I’m kind of dying. My parents, they mean well, but they wanted me to stay in the hospital. What I have though…” She stopped talking, then took a deep breath. “It’s kind of different. My brain has weak spots in it. Several of them. Too deep to operate on, so one day I’m going to be walking along and boom, I’ll probably just die. So Uncle Bill set me up doing this. I always wanted to be in this kind of work, so it’s that. A wish fulfilled before I buy the farm.”

  Tony started nodding, even if he felt a little bit shocked.

  “That sucks. Not the job, the dying part.” The words froze in his mouth, not knowing what to say next.

  That he was sorry came to mind, which he was. That he wanted to help, too. Neither of those things felt right however. If it were him he wouldn’t want pity or anything. Which left him clueless as to how to deal with the whole thing.

  After a bit he forced a smile.

  “I should have gotten some cake.”

  That got her to blink at him, then give him a funny look.

  “What? I mean, I love cake, don’t get me wrong, but…”

  Taking a bite of his salad, he waved at the plate of food.

  “I’ve pretty much lived on a diet since I got here. Salads, lean meats, that kind of stuff. No junk food at all. It was for training. That’s kind of done now, since I’m not planning to keep fighting forever, but Rick and Jen both need to be strict that way still. So for dessert we have some sliced fruit. I was just thinking that, you know…” He couldn’t make himself seem happy about it, but his voice wasn’t really down or anything. Just slightly playful, which probably made him seem like a jerk.

  Sandy chuckled a bit.

  “Right. So cake? Well, next time? If we do this again? I mean…” She looked away, then shook her head lightly. “I pretty much can’t have sex or do anything too fun. If I did, it would probably kill me. Running is right out, too. Even kissing has to be done kind of calmly. It’s a blood pressure thing. So I’ll get it if we don’t hang after this. Still, this is really nice. If it wouldn’t be the last thing I did, you’d totally be getting lucky later.”

  That got him to nod. After all, if she’d been throwing herself at him, it really would be hard to say no. Or would have been. Now he was kind of afraid to do anything, since it might be too much for her.

  “I think we can arrange that. Doing other things. How long are you in town for?”

  She smiled then, shrugging just a bit.

  “Until the story is done here? We’
ll probably leave the day after tomorrow. So, there isn’t a lot of time that way.”

  He could see that bit.

  “Yeah. We should do dinner tomorrow, too? We can go out. I don’t have a car, or a license, but money isn’t a problem.” He had tens of thousands in the bank. True it was being saved for college. Spending a few hundred on a dying girl could be managed.

  “I do have a car. A license as well. It’s a bit dangerous, since I might buy it if I have a fender-bender, but if you’re willing to risk it I am.” Then, as if he might not believe her, she got up to get her purse, the license coming out quickly, to show him.

  It was from a different state, which meant he looked at it a bit longer that he would have otherwise. The picture wasn’t brilliant on it either. Her eyes were half closed and she was kind of pale in it, compared to how she was there, by candle light.

  “Hmmm. It looks real and everything. Too young to get you into the club though, which is a sign that you didn’t pay to have it made. No one would say they were sixteen if they bought fake I.D. Right?” Then it would be at least twenty-one.

  She giggled a bit.

  “Totally legit. Right down to the organ donor heart on the back.” She shrugged as he flipped it over. It really was there. “What I have… My heart, kidneys, lungs, eyes… All of those will be fine. I figured that I might as well do something good, even if I can’t be here for it. Does that sound stupid?”

  Tony looked at her across the table. Locking eyes for a bit.

  “It really doesn’t. Helping people is a big part of what life it’s really about. That… I mean, don’t get me wrong… I’d rather you be alive and healthy. If you can’t be though, this is a good thing to do. It has value.”

  “Exactly what I was thinking. It’s kind of hard. I mean… I’ve known about this for two years, so I’ve made my peace with it. My parents, well, they both keep acting like science and medicine is going to come up with a cure for me any day now. For a while, at first, I’d thought they might too, but now… It isn’t happening. On the great side, I probably won’t really die on you if we make out a bit? We’ve both had the garlic dressing, so that shouldn’t be too bad…”