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“Well actually, Kyzer. I am taking two of my classes online now. They happen to be the same ones that you and I were taking together. I’m not worried about the English Composition, but you know how much I hate Physics. It’s like second nature to you. So, since I won’t have easy access to a professor, would you mind terribly if I call you when I get in a bind? You’re pretty great at explaining theory.”
“That is no problem whatsoever. We can be online study buddies if you want.”
I felt relieved. I knew Kyzer was a whiz at any type of science class. I had initially been concerned about transitioning that class to online status.”
“Great. Thank you.”
I gave Kyzer my email address. He said he would email the notes he had taken in today’s class on a word document for me to review.
“Hang in there, Lindsey,” he said. “Lean on me whenever you feel the need, okay?”
Taz was coming into the room and with the way he felt about Kyzer, I felt it best to wrap up the conversation.
“Thanks again,” I said. “I better get going. I have a lot to do.”
“Okay. Check your emails when you get a chance. I’ll have the notes waiting for you.”
Taz was giving me a look that plainly asked “Who was that?”
“That was Kyzer,” I answered his unspoken question. “He was just checking to see if I was sick or something since I wasn’t in class.”
“Humph,” he muttered, “At least you won’t have to be exposed to that Poindexter anymore,” he replied.
I decided it was best not to let Taz know we were going to be online study buddies. He had a major issue with Kyzer that I was convinced was more territorial than anything else.
“We have a few hours until Slate and your mom get here. Do you want to go out and eat?” he asked.
“Sounds good to me,” I replied.
Taz took me to his favorite Mexican restaurant. It was called ‘El Papagyos.’
Mexican food was not my favorite cuisine, but the food and atmosphere there definitely moved it up a couple of notches. It might have been the company I was with. We enjoyed dinner just talking about normal things for a change.
Taz had grown up in Marin County in northern California. His parents still lived in Sausalito, the town where he was raised until he enlisted in the Army after completing his B.S. in Military Science at U.C. Berkeley.
After graduation, he immediately enlisted in the Army and made E-4 right after boot camp. He then began jump school and graduated as a Green Beret within six months. That is when he met Slate.
“So, what about your family?” I asked.
He shrugged.
“They’re like a lot of other families I suppose; hard-working, honest, driven, flawed, opinionated, proud, judgmental, conflicted.”
“Wow,” I said, sipping a glass of Sangria. “That’s a lot of adjectives, most of them not exactly flattering.”
“Oh, yeah?” he replied, looking directly at me. “How would you describe your family, Lindsey?”
“Now or before?”
“The family that raised you?”
“I guess at the time, I considered them loving, caring, dedicated, comforting, secure, and nurturing.”
“And now?” he asked, cocking that lovely eyebrow.
“Clearly fractured and dysfunctional; but you’re the Psych major now. You already knew that.”
“No family is perfect, Lindsey. I am glad that your mother is with Slate now. Even though Slate’s not blood to you, he does care and will always do what is best for your mother and brother, and he will do his best to be there for you. He understands you’re grown up. I’ll bet he even understands that you still love your father; that your love for a parent doesn’t just magically disappear.”
