Soul Mates (9 page)

They actually discussed this issue in their backyard next to their fire-pit with drinks in hand, enjoying a little alone time while Tyler “stayed over a friend’s.” 

“I mean, he still makes honor roll most quarters, and all things considered, he really doesn’t give us much trouble. We’re very lucky parents, you know,” Ray explained to his wife as she sipped her cold white wine. 

“Believe me, I know we’re lucky. I just want him to do his best in school and what Mr. Colabza said the other day concerned me a bit. I know that he wants to be a police officer, and that he can get his sixty credits in two years at a community college, but that’s no reason to slack off either,” Cindy said.

“I know, believe me, I was raised to work up to my full potential too, same as you, but all I’m saying is that he has had quite a bit of grief earlier in his school career, and he finally seems to be enjoying himself a bit these days. Let him enjoy the rest of his time in high school, within reason. He’s in a better mood when he comes home from school, and generally a happier kid. Don’t you think?” Ray said.

“Yes, and I think it has a lot to do with that girl Lilith that he hangs around with. What do you think of her? Also, he 
does
 seem happier, yes, but he also seems to be out in space a little. You don’t think he’s using drugs, do you?” his wife asked.

“I don’t know her very well. They don’t really hang out around here too much. She seems fine though. And no, I don’t think our son is using drugs. High school kids are supposed to be a little spacey. They’re shot from the four-year trek through the process,” Ray laughed. As far as what he felt about his son’s relationship with Lilith, Ray thought that his son was extremely lucky with his score…among other things. But this would be omitted from the conversation, regardless of how many bottles of wine they went through in front of the fire that night. 

“I don’t know. Maybe I’m just being a typical mother, you know, the “no one is good enough for my boy” sort of thing.” This got Ray laughing again, and hard. 

“I understand, babe, but, while your intentions are sound, I don’t think Tyler would want you chasing 
this
 one away,” he tittered with lips looser than he had intended. That was as close as he would come to telling his wife what a sex-pot he thought his son’s girlfriend was. 

So, not only was Mr. Colabza aware of this hiccup in Tyler’s school career, but as you can see, so were his parents.

*   *   *

 
            
 
“I’m fine, Mr. Colabza, it’s just a little senioritis, you know? Besides, I’m going to community college for an associate’s degree and then to the police academy, and from what I hear, as long as you have a pulse, you get accepted to community college.”

“Tyler, that’s no reason not to try your hardest during the rest of the year.”

“I know, I know,” Tyler placated, guiltily looking down at the desktop.

“You’re a good kid Tyler, don’t allow yourself to be coerced into being someone you aren’t or to 
do
 things that you normally wouldn’t do,” Mr. Colabza nodded towards the door. “You know what I’m saying, right?”

Lilith stood outside the room, seething. Tyler knew what he was saying and of course, Lilith knew what Mr. Colabza was implying. Even though she wasn’t looking into the room, she could somehow 
hear
 the body language tacked to Jim Colabza’s cautious words. 

“Mmm-hmm.” Lilith wasn’t an orator by any means, she chose her words carefully and precisely. She meant what she said and she said what she meant, and more often than not, this didn’t require a great amount of words to bolster her point. 

“Mmm-hmm.” The implications of 
that
 simple phrase could be quite frightening.

Chapter 2

“Mom, I’m home!” Tyler announced. 

“Hey, Ty! Be right there!” Cindy called from somewhere in the house. 

Although Tyler had an increasingly unhealthy captivation with Lilith, he still maintained a more than decent home life with his parents. Cindy’s rule of having dinner with the family had stuck all through his schooling; a remarkable feat, considering how busy schedules tend to get with age.

Cindy came from upstairs with an armful of laundry and found Tyler in the kitchen waiting for her. She greeted him and kissed him “hello” on the cheek.  Tyler went on with the rest of the routine, which included answering some questions about his day while his head was buried in the refrigerator. 

“How was school?” Cindy asked her son.

“Alright. You know, same old story. I’m looking forward to the end, to be honest with you,” Tyler shrugged.

“Well 
that
 didn’t sound too great? Anything happen?”

“No. Nothing remarkable; just a typical day, that’s all. Hey, can I ask a favor?” his voice suddenly perked up from its previous drone, the way voices tend to when they are imposing on someone. 

“Can I say “no”?” his mother joked.

“You 
could
, but what fun would 
that
 be? Plus I’ll sulk and mope around here,” he smiled.

“I guess you’re right. Ask away then, son o’ mine,” Cindy said. How could she resist with a smile like Ty’s?

“I was wondering if Lilith could come by for dinner tonight,” Tyler proposed. 

Now, Cindy didn’t exactly dislike Lilith, but the other side of the coin was that she probably wasn’t her biggest fan either. She had always thought of Lilith as the common denominator to Tyler’s dwindling grades ever since they started palling around together in their younger days, let alone going out together later in their teens. Although it was very difficult, she decided to take the higher ground and give Lilith the benefit of the doubt and concede that any female would have this effect on her son because he was just at that age now. Besides, she made her son happy. 

If she said that the phrase, “keep your friends close and keep your enemies closer” didn’t breach the surface of her subconscious more than once, what a liar she would have been. In her defense, however, people aren’t exactly aware of their subconscious, which is what makes the subconscious what it is, by definition. 

Cindy realized something else. 
Two
 things, as a matter of fact: First, this would be a great opportunity for her and her husband to get to know his son’s girlfriend a little bit more. Perhaps it would assist in putting aside some qualms she had about the relationship. “She” because Ray was proud of his son for having such an attractive girlfriend, and he didn’t exactly disguise it either, by God. 

Second, is a classic and frankly at this point in history, clichéd misstep by parents of children who are dating someone that the parents don’t particularly care for. That is unintentionally driving their child deeper into the clutches of their significant other with their blatant disdain for the companion. Cindy had seen enough Lifetime movies and sitcoms growing up to know the score. She knew the score very well. 

“I’ll run it by your father when he gets home, but I don’t see why not; I don’t mind. Like I said though, wait until I ask dad before you invite her,” Cindy said. 

“Ok,” Tyler agreed and began walking towards the stairs to go to his room.

“And make sure her mother is alright with it too!” she called after him.

To the latter, he didn’t answer. Tyler had never had a conversation with Lilith’s mom after all of these years, and yes, he 
did
 find that somewhat strange. He had seen her and met her, sure, but the words spoken between them could fit on a postcard and you’d still have room for the stamp. There were a few times over the years when his mom would drop him off at her house, before he was old enough to take his bike, and eventually his car, when Tyler and his mom would see a pale, dark haired woman standing at the front door waving to them with a wan smile before they exited the car, and then turn and walk back into the house. Tyler and his mom took this as a sign that it would be alright for him to walk up to the house, and by the time he got up to the front door, it would swing open, and Lilith would peek her head outside after Tyler walked in, give a little wave, and then promptly close the door behind her guest. 

Tyler didn’t know if it was just that they were wrapped up in playing together (when they were younger…
and
 when they were older) or a classic case of out-of-sight-out-of-mind, but he tended not to dwell upon the fact that he didn’t recall seeing the mother for the rest of his visit…ever. Perhaps the reason he and Lilith’s mother barely spoke was that when he 
did 
end up running into her, Lilith was always off in another room or busy doing something somewhere else. As polite as Tyler was, he just didn’t feel very comfortable shooting the breeze with Lilith’s mom. He would be happy to answer anything she asked him, but 
start
 the conversation? No, not Tyler.

Lilith told him that her father had left the family before she was even born. So, he didn’t expect to cross paths with him at Lilith’s house. Ty had felt a bit guilty about the feeling of relief that that information had provided. Knowing that he would never have that awkward meeting-the-father-for-the-first-time encounter that all young growing boys loathed was soothing. There were only a few times when Lilith’s home was the location of their play dates, and she never wanted to go to Tyler’s unless they had the place to themselves. Tyler didn’t think she seemed like the type that would be uncomfortable talking to parents, but he thought that looks could be deceiving…could they ever
. 
Most of the time they stayed outdoors, which was a lost art of leisure in the age of iPhones, Xboxes, iPads, and Playstations. That suited them and the adults in charge just fine. 

When Ray Swanson arrived home from work in a great mood, not only did he not balk at having his son’s girlfriend for dinner, but he suggested he take them all out to an Italian restaurant that they liked going to, Buon Mangia. Everyone thought it was a fine idea. Cindy and Ray took their car, and Tyler picked up Lilith in his car. Cindy thought it was silly to take two cars, and that they would be happy to pick Lilith up, but backed off quickly when Ray informed his wife that it was just a “guy thing.”

“They want their privacy, I’m sure,” Ray explained. “I promise, if we get to the restaurant and they’re not there behind us in fifteen minutes, I’ll go searching vacant parking lots for his rocking car. Deal?”

Cindy elbowed her husband’s ribs with a chortle and a click of her tongue. When they arrived at the restaurant, Ty was already there with Lilith. They waited out front for his parents to arrive. The first thing Cindy thought when she saw Lilith standing next to her son was that she was subtly brazen in her choice of outfit. It certainly was not street-walker-brazen, but it was there. 

Lilith wore tight blue jeans, which really pronounced her rear-end, and a tight black girl’s tee, which had three dark red butterflies on it the size of softballs. They were more like film negatives of a butterfly in their appearance. There was one near her right shoulder, one around her left midsection, and one at the bottom of the shirt. But these weren’t regular looking butterflies. There was something about how they teased the senses. The feeling was again, understated, just like their owner’s unabashed overall appearance that night, but all who looked upon these maniacal butterflies knew they were looking at harbingers of disease, or insanity, or infection, or 
some
 horrible thing. 

At the same time, the shirt was very stimulating indeed. Ty noticed it, and Ray 
certainly
 noticed it as well. Cindy needed only to look at her husband’s puerile face to realize that, which put Cindy in a lovely mood right from the beginning of the evening.

“Fuck giving her the benefit of the doubt; I’ve already seen enough,” Cindy almost said under her breath, but was able to yank the reigns of restraint at the last second…
that 
was close. Lilith could sense the hostility from her boyfriend’s mother right away before Cindy even said a word. Countenance, with the invaluable assistance of the eyes, tells astonishingly silver-tongued stories which make words almost obsolete. 

Tyler lifted his hand into the air so that his parents could see them, even though he knew they already did. Not quite subconsciously, he supposed he waved in hopes that Lilith would take this as the proverbial starter-gun to begin exhibiting her best behavior for his parents. He didn’t care very much about her behavior when they were alone, which was at times, questionable. She 
trained
 him not to care, (oh, yes she did) but at the same time, he was still aware enough to know that she had to put on a manner-fueled show when it came to his parents.