Chapter 2:

Kelly

“Another mistake, Tony, but a fun one for about a week,” Kelly said with a knowing gleam in her eye. She was lascivious, which made Nathan want her in a reckless, damn-all way that most men suffer from time to time. It was nothing he would act on, he knew, but he still wondered at this beauty. What caught him the most was the apparent lack of effort Kelly put into her appearance. Her beauty seemed simple, what people call pure. But that was certainly the wrong word to describe Kelly. Despite her discretion, despite the great pains she took to keep these matters private, the conquests of Kelly Green were the stuff of legend.

Kelly was as stunning as ever, a beauty to match all comers, with an easy personality and intelligence to boot. She was a lightning rod in a thunderstorm, a tornado in a trailer park. Even when people had their backs turned, they made a point of knowing exactly where she was. Tonight she wore a short black gown with a plunging neckline. Her hair, shimmering brunette, hung close to her shoulders, pulled back by a tortoise-shell banana clip. She wore no other accessory except for a petite black bag slung over one shoulder, allowing her simple beauty to call the attention of others.

Not only did she have hair, eyes and thighs to die for, Kelly also had a sharp mind. Three years out of Stanford Law, her legal expertise was retained by a biotech in southern California. She did pro bono work on the side for several nonprofits; all undeniably good causes. Currently unattached, Nathan had no doubt Kelly was seeing several different men as was always her modus operandi.

Michelle and Kelly chirped gleefully as the conversation turned to all of Kelly’s conquests in high school. They also talked about Michelle’s relationship—although it was a well worn topic. She’d only ever had one: Nathan had always been her boyfriend. Indeed, they talked of Nathan as if he weren’t there, while Nathan half-listened and blushed prudently.

Nathan stood to the side and caught a strand of Michelle’s scent, reminiscent of warm gingerbread and pears. He wrapped his hand in hers and wondered about their enigmatic friend. Had Kelly ever mentioned that she’d once hit on Nathan? He’d never mentioned the incident to anyone, not even Michelle. It was after a football game, as the two walked down a sidewalk, engaged in easy conversation. Nathan always liked talking to Kelly, as she seemed easy and relaxed, which tended to take the strain off Nathan, who felt he was anything else. Michelle was not around. She was sick with a flu, or strep, or maybe food poisoning from under-cooked pork at the House of Fung. However it occurred, Nathan found himself alone with Kelly, blocks from the school, heading home with cleats in hand, his gym bag over his shoulder.

Kelly wore her cheer uniform. “Nathan, I always do like talking to you,” she said as the conversation lulled. “Why shouldn’t you come over for a little coffee and cream?”

Flattered, Nathan was nevertheless wary of the invite. Was she coming on to him, or simply inviting him over? He’d known Kelly for years, and heard many of the whisperings—often from Kelly herself. For whatever reason, she was terribly open about her dalliances. “I’m not much of a coffee drinker,” he said, and shook his head.

Kelly turned to Nathan, grabbed the waist of his pants and pulled him in. “Why don’t you come over and fuck me till dawn?” She said, taking a more straightforward approach. She pressed her lips at his.

“Wow,” Nathan stammered as he dodged away from her kiss. “I…” He pointed over his shoulder with one hand and gingerly separated his pants from her grip. God, she was beautiful. He stared down at the ground, the smooth line of her legs hanging in his periphery, and shook his head.

Kelly let go of his pants and wrapped herself around his neck. Her skin was warm and inviting against his cheek, as she breathed in his ear. “You won’t regret it.”

With his hands about her waist and conflict surging in his soul, Nathan considered it for a good half second. “I can’t,” he finally answered.

“You can,” she whispered, and licked his cheek.

Nathan pushed her away, regret in his eyes. Why was she spending his friendship like this?

Kelly smiled a pitiful smile, took a step back, and dropped her hands to her skirt, smoothing the soft pleats. It’s possible she could have convinced him if she’d kept at it. Nathan was strong, but his willpower was slipping. Might she have begged her way into his bed? But she had more pride than that. It was the boys that begged, it was always the boys that begged.

And this time the boy was begging her to leave him alone. So be it.

For a long moment, the two stood, awkward, unsure what to do next. Could they still be friends? Had she poisoned the well? A bewitching smile curled over her lips as Kelly looked up at him, suddenly shy. “Bye, Nathan,” she said, standing perfectly still, allowing him to leave—or change his mind. She must not have ever told Michelle, or likely anyone else—and Nathan liked her all the more for it.

Nathan smiled a nervous smile, turned, and broke into a run. How many others had refused Kelly’s advances? Even after ten good years, it’d be a short list indeed.

Ten years later, all grown and still terribly awkward, Nathan stared around Kelly, fully aware of her details: the bright green of her eyes, the ruddy flush of her cheeks, the pout of her lips balanced by an incessant smile. He preferred to keep her in his periphery, so he wouldn’t have to look at her head on. He attempted to focus on her words instead of her features. He put his thoughts into the feel of Michelle’s hand intertwined in his own; her smooth, soft skin. He knew that wanting something and having something were two completely different sensations, and the second was always the one that disappoints. Although he’d always been with Michelle, the two were often separated for days, weeks, months; and so he knew what life was like without her. There was no chance he’d ever give her up.

Michelle gave Nathan’s hand a squeeze and dropped it. She crossed her legs and tilted back the rest of her wine. “That hit fast,” she stated as she lowered the glass from her lips, “If you’ll excuse, me, I must attend the ladies room.” She held the glass out to Nathan and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Breaking the seal already?” Kelly admonished.

“Myth!” Michelle shot back as she loped away.

With that, Kelly took another small sip of her wine and turned to Nathan with a playful grin. “We still repeat all the same things we said so many years ago.”

“Do you consider it a bad thing?” Nathan asked.

“To the contrary,” Kelly began. “It validates our memories.”

Without Michelle around, Nathan could no longer turn his gaze sideways. He was forced to take Kelly’s beauty head on as she smiled at him with a devilish grin. Oh, those sultry lips, glossed, and curved with mirth. She smelled of summer, of melon, tanning lotion, and fresh-cut grass. Nathan’s eyes went wide as she continued to stare. “What?” he asked, back on his heels, suddenly wondering if she meant to hit on him again.

“Oh, come on. Everybody’s talking about you and your ever-present ‘date.’ When are you going to marry the woman?” Kelly asked.

“We’re still hammering out the details,” Nathan lied. Marriage hadn’t come up in years. Their commitment was unspoken, requiring no rings or flowery speeches. Marriage seemed superfluous, even a bit bothersome to Nathan; and Michelle hated the practice ever since her parents divorce.

Kelly leaned forward, “Personally, I’m happy to see you two still together. It gives me faith in human relationships. In a day of disposable everything, some things still last.”

“Thank you,” Nathan responded. “Although I don’t know how I feel about you comparing our relationship to your love of styrofoam.”

He dodged back as Kelly playfully swatted at him. “Trust me, you don’t have enough money to fight me,” Nathan quipped—and then winced as he realized what he’d done. After worrying so much about somebody else bringing it up, he’d alluded to his boxing career.

“Why did you quit?” Kelly asked. “Was it medical? That’s what I thought when I saw you step out of the ring that last time, I thought maybe… You fought an awful lot in such a short span…took a lot of punches,” Kelly blushed as Nathan cringed at her words, “But then, people always imagine the worst.”

“I don’t really want to talk…”

“I cheered for you every time,” Kelly interrupted, amending quickly, before the conversation could lapse into an uneasy repetition of apologies and evasions. “That last fight, it was sad to see it all end in such a strange fashion—but, man! You weren’t good, you were better than anybody! Even if they were better, you were better. It didn’t matter how much damage they laid out, you took it, and gave your own! I know I might not look it, but thanks to you, I’m a bit of a boxing junkie—and I always say, whenever someone mentions you, I always tell them you are the best there ever was! Pound for pound, there’s no one even close! Muhammad Ali wouldn’t have had a prayer. Float like a butterfly, sting like a butterfly is what I say. Hurricane Nathan: that’s what I called you! I never liked the whole ‘lightning’ thing,” she blushed.

He smiled, happy to hear that she should be on his side despite his final humiliating loss. So many people had called him a quitter, and although the title was technically dead on, having other people throw it in his face seemed unfair. “Thank you,” he finally replied. “I don’t remember who came up with ‘lightning,’ but I like what Burnam said about it the most. He said if I was going to beat him, it would be with my blinding complexion and not my lackluster speed.”

“I remember that,” Kelly smiled. “And I remember that fight too. You destroyed him.”

“Eventually,” Nathan said as he ran several fingers through his stark blonde curls. He remembered the fight too, and the destroying. The memory wasn’t pleasant. He shook his head. “I sure didn’t beat him with my speed.”

“No,” Kelly smiled. “You were dangerous in a lot of ways, but speed was never your forte. I think the best thing about you was your ability to take a punch. There were a couple fights where you just soaked up the punishment—and that’s why I thought it had to be medical when you quit.”

Nathan, shook his head. “There were a lot of reasons to quit. There were a few to keep fighting, but there were so many to give it up. I suppose I could have found a better time to stop, but…” Nathan gave his famous smile, the one that graced a half dozen Sports Illustrated covers and once landed him in People’s sexiest issue. It was the smile he used to sell things back when he hawked toothpaste and shaving cream for anyone that could come up with the fee. Those days were over too. He wanted nothing to do with the cheap products he was asked to hustle, or the sleazy money-grubbers that relied on celebrity endorsements to sell sub-standard products.

“I took this one guy out to a sports bar to watch you fight,” Kelly reminisced. “I just wanted to sleep with him, he was so mmm,” she purred. “I cheered for you and he cheered for the other guy, which I didn’t mind. I’m drinking beer, and this guy’s got a cosmo, and I don’t mind that either. It went swimmingly, until I told him I went to school with you. I think he was jealous that I knew you. He took it badly when you won, and said some nasty things about you. I told him I’d arrange an introduction. I thought about calling you and asking you down to San Diego, you know, actually go through with the threat.”

“Give him a little punch in the stomach,” Nathan joked, “Make him lose his lunch.”

“I wish I had,” Kelly said, then punched Nathan playfully in the stomach. “Hiya!”

"You've wanted to do that all night," Nathan accused.

Kelly smiled. “Wow.” She added, pushing her hand against his abdomen, “You haven’t lost your figure at all.”

Nathan blushed.

“Anyway, I knew his boss,” Kelly continued as her hand drifted to his. “I had him transferred to a shit assignment. Last I heard he was in east Nebraska running some local branch office, the bastard.”

“What’s so bad about Nebraska?” Nathan asked.

“Have you ever been to Nebraska?” Kelly sallied.

“No.”

“Of course not. Nobody goes to Nebraska because there’s nothing in Nebraska,” Kelly said taking another sip of her drink.

“There must be something in Nebraska.”

“Not anything worth seeing.”

Nathan shrugged. He could contest the point, and assumed he was correct, but did he really want to defend anything against this woman? He had a feeling she still had a penchant to disagree with people simply to disagree.

“When are you going to find a man, someone to keep?” Nathan asked.

Kelly almost choked, “I have several, you should know! I always have. Doesn’t Michelle tell you anything?”

He smiled, pleased that he had suspected as much. “I mean one man, you know, like people expect.”

“Oh yes, we must all give in to the expectations of others or suffer the consequences,” Kelly smiled that exquisite smile of hers.

“You asked me about marriage,” Nathan reminded.

Kelly acquiesced, “Fair enough. I don’t feel like I should settle. I suppose one day I may have to, but, for now, I like the variety. Besides, all the men I meet of late want to acquire me, to mold my life, as if I am a thing to be purchased or captured and tamed. Men have such a capital view of love: that enough capital will buy them this glorious prize. Let her be five-six, blonde, 115 pounds, no less than C cups (boob jobs are allowed—even encouraged), and no older than twenty-two…”

“Ahh. The classic lament of the trophy wife,” Nathan remarked.

Kelly grinned. “For some women this is enough. They want a man to take care of them. They don’t mind the life of a pet; good food, silk sheets, and an owner that’s too busy to notice they’re shagging the pool boy. But I am no trophy and there is no case to hold me. I have two degrees and a six digit income. If I’m going to fall in love, it certainly won’t be for mere money.”

“Which means he can stay home, cleaning the kitchen, cooking dinner, and tending the children?” Nathan asked.

“Barefoot and beer-bellied. He can shop with my credit cards if he wants, so long as he changes the oil in the cars every 3,000 miles, and keeps all the sinks in working order. Of course, there will be no children unless he decides to push ‘em out, because I will not.” Kelly shook her head, her smile curved in an impish grin. “You paint it as if one or the other has to be the tyrant in any relationship,” she continued. “You of all people know better. I’ve watched you and Michelle for a long time, and you never interfere in each others lives, never like that.”

Kelly tilted her wine up, taking a long sip. Nathan stared down at the two empty glasses in hand, not knowing what to say. Did Kelly and Michelle really keep such tight contact?

“You’ve ruined it for the rest of us,” Kelly started again. “We see what’s possible, but we don’t understand how to make it work. You’ve set quite the difficult example.”

Flattered and not knowing how to reply, Nathan shrugged.

“So tell me, do you have any outstanding complaints?” Kelly asked.

“Where to begin!” Nathan snorted.

“Not with the world,” Kelly tsked. “With Michelle,” she clarified.

“Oh,” Nathan scratched his neck. “Only that she’s leaving. She’s going to Gabon in August.”

“Gabon? Where is Gabon?” Kelly asked.

Nathan shrugged, “Africa?”

“What is she doing there?”

“She’s part of a delegation of goodwill, or some silliness. They’re going to promote things: the Olympics, environmental awareness, ecotourism—all I know is that people keep telling me they have a lot of elephants.”

“What is this thing you have for elephants?” Kelly asked.

“I wouldn’t call it a ‘thing’,” Nathan stated. “Well, technically it’s a ‘thing’, but the way you say it makes it sound... sexual.”

“A girl will have her fun,” Kelly grinned at Nathan.

He smiled back as he realized he was comfortable, standing here with her. He could stay here all night with such an easy smile—but then he thought, where is Michelle? Nathan glanced about the gymnasium. The place was packed end to end. Yet, he hadn’t talked to more than a half-dozen people all night. He noticed the Forth twins, Deanna and Daniel, making their way over and he realized he was happy to see them too. Nathan waved and the twins smiled as they approached. He felt up to a night of give and take, of questions about his career, about anything at all! It didn’t matter! These people wouldn’t berate him for his decisions. They might be curious, but there wouldn’t be the demands, the accusations, the trite headlines in tomorrow’s newspaper—but the questions never came.

Change is a strange thing, always pressing in on what is. Change comes about in different ways, creeping in, slowly dissolving the old into the new: an expecting mother swells for nine months before birthing a healthy girl of six pounds, ten ounces. Change snaps into our lives, like a broken collarbone as two football players collide at a funny angle. Sometimes, we don’t know exactly what to do with it, like the money from a winning lottery ticket, and sometimes we don’t have time to think about it, like a blown tire on the interstate. Change occurs for good and bad, whether we expect it or not. A man piloting his Chevy Suburban spills his coffee and glances down at his new stain, just as the Tercel in front of him brakes hard to avoid a rabbit in the road. Metal crunches metal as the two cars careen about in a wild dance, and the rabbit is the only one to escape unscathed…

...change…

…a small boy stares in wonder as his mother walks through the front door of their home with a puppy under her arm, a puppy she acquired on a whim from the chatty man in front of the grocery store…

…a little girl wobbles about a frozen pond, her first time on skates, and falls in love with the sensation of gliding across ice…

...the universe is forever dynamic. As the old saying goes, the only constant is change. For Nathan, Michelle, Kelly, and the rest of the attendees of the class reunion, the catalyst for major change was fire. It erupted from the ceiling of the gymnasium, accompanied by a terrible concussion, throwing everyone to the ground. For a second, Nathan lay dazed on the cheap wood flooring before sensation and awareness returned in a sudden rush, his senses alive and acute. It reminded him of the few times an opponent had ever knocked him to the ground—only this time there was no one to fight as he stood.

Fire rushed over him, hugging what was left of the ceiling. It roared in his ears as the ringing from the explosion dissipated. Half the roof was gone, blown up, down, and out. The remainder was crumbling, raining down flame. One thought jumped in Nathan’s head as he brushed hot cinders off his clothes: where’s Michelle?!

Nathan was sprawled across Kelly, his body protecting her from a crush of materials. She was unconscious, and he couldn’t just leave her. Nathan gathered Kelly in his arms and broke for the door. He’d have to come back for Michelle.

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