Between Shifts

Kevin spends some quality time with his girls.

 

Between Shifts

 

 

 

 Kevin met briefly with Brad, the relieving supervisor, the following morning and together they finished the drug count before Kevin could go home. He had to rush a bit because he had to teach a Bible class for a friend of his. On mornings like this, he let his old Corvette stretch its legs a bit on some of the straighter portions of the roadway, all the time with a watchful eye on his radar detector and for slower traffic. 

Since his girls were in this class, he really did not like teaching the junior high age group, but the class would at least react to some of his thought provoking questions. After a quick shower and shave at home, Kevin had to skip breakfast to avoid being late. His wife and two daughters had gone on to church before him. He disliked that, but there was no sense in them all being late.

     Kevin related the story of the childbirth to the Bible class and they all seemed excited to hear about the delivery. His Sunday school class had a genuine interest in most of his stories about his job as a paramedic. This story served to get their interest up for the rest of the lesson.

     After church was over, the girls wanted to have a family outing at the beach. It was a beautiful day and the air was really clear. A day at the beach was what the girls wanted and they made no attempt to hide their disappointment that Mom was not going with them. Helen tried to explain that she had to get back to Houston for her afternoon radio talk show and after that there was a meeting with the Houston Opera Society. She could see the disappointment in the girls’ faces, but Helen explained that she could not neglect her work. That did very little to settle the girls, but Kevin offered a very quick compromise. Kevin fixed a quick lunch at home on their back deck and the girls practiced their silent treatment on Mom. Kevin promised to take the girls to Galveston for a walk on the beach and enjoy the rest of the day. Helen had to keep her appointments and even though this was her job, the girls pressed the matter into heated debate with Mom once again. Being the referee in this debate left Kevin tired and angry. Still, a trip to the beach would be good for the girls and Kevin now needed the distraction.

            Stacy, 13 and Kimberly, 11 ran together along the beach as Kevin tried to let the fresh sea air sooth his tense nerves. Even though the beach was very relaxing, Kevin really wished the karate school were open on Sundays. A couple of good brisk rounds on the heavy punching bag would do him a lot of good right now.

            As Kevin watched his two girls playing together on the beach, his mind began relax and to wander. It was funny how a simple thing like watching his girls play allowed Kevin to relax and as he did, his thoughts returned to a day some 20 plus years earlier, back to his first day as a junior in high school and a girl who had caught his eye.

            She was standing next to her locker when he noticed her. She had a shy smile, gorgeous brown eyes and dark wavy hair. Kevin could see the Hispanic heritage in her immediately. She had both arms full of books and one of those fancy calculators that most of the student used to play games. 

            "Who's the new girl?” he asked Travis, an old friend he had long since forgotten until this moment.

            "She's nothing, another girl from the Projects. She’s probably just another tramp, just like all the rest of those low lifes from over there. You don't need to waste your time with her unless you're into fungus and you’re sure she's had all of her shots."

            "Don't judge so soon", Kevin protested. "You could be looking at a diamond in the rough."

            "Rough as hell, you mean. Look at the way she's dressed. This is the first day of school and that outfit is straight from Goodwill. That shows absolutely no class at all, Kevin. You can do much better than that piece of trash."

            “Hey Romeo, neither of us did very well this summer, and this is a new year. Maybe this girl could be that breath of fresh air I’ve been looking for.”

            “Fresh air! You may as well be breathing dumpster fumes if you think that is fresh air!”

            “Look, I’m just going to find out who she is. What harm could come from that?”

            “Plenty, man plenty”, Travis protested. “You really need to let me take care of your social calendar, and I say she ain’t on it.

             "Cool it! She’s new here, and she’s someone I want to meet. If you raz her or say anything trashy or I'll bury you."

            “Man, already willing to fight for this girl?? You must really be hard up. Let the Travmiester fix you up with someone with at least a little taste and style. I have just the girl in mind and you will forget about that Project Queen in a heartbeat.”

            “Just lay off and don’t push your luck with me right now. My Dad and I got into it over going Premed again and It has not been the best of days so far. I really don’t need you to mess with my love life again. Remember Becca??”

            “Hey, how was I to know she was going to go psycho?”

            “It was so much more than that. She was totally psycho from the word go. How could you have not known? It took months to get her to stop coming around and bugging the whole family. Laura’s still upset about her slipping in through her window that night.”

            “She just could not get enough of you, buddy,” Travis continued. “You really bring out the animal in some of these girls.”

            “Knock it off, Travis. I can handle this on my own.”

            At that moment, one of the girl’s books slipped from her arms and crashed to the floor. It landed solidly on the cover and made that loud slap you can’t hide from. As she bent to pick up the fallen book, the rest of her books and school gear scattered about the floor. Her face turned bright red as some of the preps took the chance to make light of her situation.

            Kevin went to her aid and took the opportunity to introduce himself to the girl he had noticed. He helped her pick up the scattered books, an action which quickly silenced the preps. She had a really nice smile and her eyes, how they really lit up when she looked at him. She allowed Kevin to walk her to class, an act which almost drove Travis nuts. After all, Helen was the girl for Kevin, and everyone knew that. He knew he had to put a stop to this relationship before it could get off the ground.

Two weeks later, Kevin and Michelle Colina had their first official date. Three months after they met, it was all over. Something was not right with the way things had ended and it was a mystery as to why they had just left town so fast. Michelle and her parents moved to New York State. Kevin could not understand why this memory had just flashed into his head. Was he wishing he had followed Michelle and stayed away from Helen?  

            "Dad, watch us", Kimberly cried over the roar of the surf. Her voice brought Kevin back to reality and he ran down the beach to watch his daughters. Kimberly and Stacy had been practicing their gymnastics moves and the soft sand seemed to be an ideal place for them to show off her progress. Years of gymnastics had given Stacy a very trim and muscular body. Kimberly was developing the same athletic build, but her penchant for junk food was helping to keep a little more baby fat on her than her coaches liked to see. 

Stacy had incredible flexibility and until this year had kept her talents hidden from everyone except family and her best friends. To Kimberly it was all just play time until this year and the tryouts for cheerleading.

            Both girls had always been very athletic and very competitive. Stacy leaned more towards dance and gymnastics while Kimberly tolerated dance, loved gymnastics and was really into team sports. Middle school peer pressure had pushed Stacy more towards team sports, but a twisted ankle during soccer season forced her to miss her regional dance competition and two months of gymnastics training.   

            Kimberly was now entering middle school and with her larger frame, had become an immediate stand out on the soccer field as well as a much sought after basketball player. 

            Cheerleading tryouts had solidified the competitive spirit in both girls. As their luck would have it, both girls made the squad and the intense competition pushed both girls to their limits. 

            Gymnastics was where they both shown brightly. Stacy was second in the region and Kimberly was ranked 15^th. Stacy, always more serious in her gymnastics, took her second place ranking as an incentive to push harder to reach that top spot.

            Kimberly was content just to get to do some of the competitions. At her age, she knew she still had some time and her mother was always pushing her to back off competing while Stacy was on top. Only last spring did she get to compete at all while Stacy recovered from her ankle injury.

            Kevin watched with interest and a little bit of amazement as his younger daughter danced and flipped in the sand. He was his daughter’s biggest cheerleader and also, their toughest trainer. He was very proud of his daughters, whether they were at the top of the podium or not. They were great kids. 

         "Not bad for a little tomboy," he teased as she did a front flip and landed on her behind in the sand.

          "Dad!” she protested, "I'm not a tomboy."

           “That’s right Dad. She’s a tom person!” Stacy defended as she giggled at her sister’s not so graceful landing.

          “Sorry, you little tom person. No harm meant.”

           Kimberly picked herself up and brushed the sand and indignity of the fall from her behind. To prove she could do the front flip without busting her bottom, she executed another front flip and then went for a round off right after it. She nailed both and looked to her father for approval.

             “Nice recovery”

             “What did you really think?" Stacy begged. "She's worked so hard on all of her moves."

             "I think she looks great and I'm really very proud of both of you. It doesn’t look like the cheerleading has hurt your gymnastics at all. Stacy, you really look like you are ready for the sub-regional this weekend.”

            “I feel pretty good about everything except the bars. After Danielle fell last week and broke her wrist, I’ve been really worried about the bars, and our team. Danielle’s accident hurt all of us.”

            “I’m sure your coaches will find a replacement for Danielle. I hate to see her miss out at this point though. She was a great anchor for you guys.”

            “Well, Shannon said if it could happen to Danielle, it could happen to any of us, Dad. And I don’t want to get hurt and miss the rest of this season. The ankle was enough.”

            “So that is what has been bothering you. Listen, Shannon was trying to get the team’s attention. We know Danielle was trying to push too hard and she got careless. You know how stubborn she can be and you know she was trying a move she was not very comfortable with and she did it without using a spotter. Yes, under those circumstances, anyone could get hurt. I’m just glad I was there and it was nothing more serious than her wrist.”

            “I’m glad you were there too, Dad”, Stacy said as she gave her dad a hug. “You’ve always stood beside me when things were tough at the gym or in school.”

            “That’s my job.”

            “And you are really good at it”, Kimberly pitched in. “Everyone says you are a great Dad!”

            “Everyone?” Kevin teased.

            “Aren’t we all that count?” Kimberly said.

            The three spent the rest of the afternoon watching the surf crash against the breakers and playing in the surf. Kevin hoped against hope that Helen would be home when they got there, but they found an empty house upon their arrival. Kevin knew his wife would not return home tonight. She kept a pretty extensive Wardrobe in her downtown office for such occasions. She had an early morning news show to do and the drive back and forth was a bit too much at times. On nights like tonight though, the girls could have used some time with Mom.