Weaver

"I went to Peoria, but...it, ah...look I know you're going to be mad, but I went to see Kristyna, Weaver's wife." She had never seen Bob angry before; that was about to change.

"You what! His wife! How did you...we talked about this, damn it! You agreed, no more snooping, no more digging around in Weaver's past. What the hell, Arlene. Jesus!" he exclaimed, trying to hold down his voice. "For the first time in ten years, the poor guy's just starting to join the living again, and you..."

"Bob, please...let me explain. It's not like his trainer said. She loves him, she wants to come to Chicago and be with him."

Bob couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could she do this?

Arlene saw his brow furrow. There was real anger behind his eyes and his words.

"I don't believe this. What the hell is wrong with you? Hasn't he suffered enough? No...you had to go behind my back and find the one person in the whole world who can make him suffer even more. The one person who ripped out the heart of one of the nicest guys I know."

Arlene knew he was going to be pissed but she wasn't expecting his anger to reach the level it did. "Bob," she implored, "will you listen to me, please? The boy is his, I saw him, there's no doubt about it, Weaver has a son."

That caught Bob by surprise but after everything he'd heard about Weaver's ex, he wasn't going to be so easily convinced.

"What do you mean, there's no doubt. You don't know he's Weaver's kid. How could you? What...you're going tell me you saw their DNA charts or something?"

Arlene wasn't sure if he was so angry because she went behind his back or if he was afraid Weaver would be hurt more than he already had been. She suspected it was both, but she had to make him see that she was right to do what she did. She was sure everything was going to turn out for the best.

"Oh Bob, just one look; he has Weaver's build, his hair, and he has the same grey eyes. I'm telling you, Bob, all you have to do is look at him. His name Charles too, but she calls him Charlie."

Bob didn't want to listen to anymore; he was aggravated and disappointed. The waiter had already run his credit card. He signed the restaurant's copy of the receipt and added the tip. "Come on," she said, abruptly standing, "let's get out of here."

The ride back to Arlene's apartment was a quiet one. She looked out the side window to prevent Bob from seeing the moisture in her eyes. She knew her feelings for Bob were stronger than she'd ever felt for anyone, but she hadn't realized how strong they were until she was faced with the possibility of losing him.

Always the gentleman, he walked her to her door but declined her offer to go inside.

"I'm sorry, Bob. I'm sorry I lied to you, but..."

"Me too," he said without letting her finish. "I...I had high hopes for us, Arlene; now I'm not so sure. I can't even think about having a relationship with somebody I can't trust; someone who lies to me and goes behind my back."

He saw the tears in her eyes as he spoke but there was nothing he could do about it. He shook his head with sadness, turned, and walked back to his car.

That night, Arlene cried herself to sleep.

The following Monday, Arlene's phone rung bright and early once again as soon as she got into the office. She knew before picking it up, it was Derick.

"Good morning, Arlene." His greeting was cheery, not at all like her reply.

"Hi Derick."

"Ah oh, from the sound of you voice it didn't go too well. What happened, wasn't she home?"

"No, no, she was home. We had a long talk," she said as she started to tell Derick about Kristyna's story.

Derick listened with interest but could tell by the flatness in her voice, that something was wrong. He waited until she finished. "Arlene, there's something wrong; what is it? Maybe I can help."

"I don't think there's anything you can do this time, Derick. She wants to come to Chicago. She wants him back. Bob would find out what I did sooner or later so I told him about it last Saturday, at dinner."

"Oh-boy," he commented.

"Yeah, oh-boy. I thought the good news would outweigh the bad but he was still pissed. I...I don't know, Derick," she said as she started crying again. "I think I've lost him."

"I knew you were going to get into trouble. I know Bob, he respects strength but he hates dishonesty. You would have been better off telling him you were going and if he didn't like it he could lump it, rather than lie to him."

"I know, it's just...I..." she sniffled. "I wasn't expecting this. I figured she was going to be a bitch. All I wanted to do was see if she'd tell me why she dumped Weaver. I thought if I knew the whole story I might be able to tell him something that would help him get over her."

"I know, Arlene. You're intentions were honorable; it's just the way you went about it. You want me to talk to Bob, see if I can smooth some feathers?"

"Thanks Derick, but I created this mess, I should be the one to fix it. I'll keep your offer in mind though...for a last resort, if that's okay. I can't lose him, Derick, I just can't. I love him."

"I know you do, and the best thing you have going for you is that he loves you too."

"Really, Derick. Do you know that for sure?" she queried with some hope.

"I know that for sure," he confirmed.

Later that night Weaver was already at the gym when Bob walked in. He briefly watched as the former pro-fighter passed on the knowledge and skills he'd learned from years of experience in the ring. Bob took great satisfaction in knowing he was, at least, partially responsible for the look of pride behind Weaver's time-weary eyes.

Even after countless hours of thought and meditation over the weekend, Bob had no idea what to do about the trouble Arlene had stirred up. Why did she have to poke her nose into it, he angrily asked himself. After ten years of misery, the tortured soul of a man was just starting to enjoy life again; and now...

"Hey coach," a young voice came from behind him. "Is Weaver going to stick around? He's a pretty neat guy."

Bob turned and smiled. It was the first time he had smiled since Saturday night. "Yes, Jimmy, I'm hoping he'll stay permanently."

"Yeah!" was Jimmy's exuberant reply.

Over the next three weeks, Bob watched Weaver's miraculous transformation. Two or three nights a week they would go out for a beer after closing the gym. They talked about the boys, mostly. It was during one of those talks that Bob saw Weaver smile for the first time.

Every night Weaver was becoming more involved with the program; that meant not only teaching the mechanics of the sport, but being concerned with the boy's lives as well. Sometimes, over a beer, he would ask Bob about a certain boy's family life or aspirations for the future and Bob never disappointed him by not knowing.

A bond was developing between the two men, a bond of trust, loyalty, and friendship; a bond Bob prayed would not be broken. He wondered if he was already betraying that friendship by not telling Weaver about his ex-wife. Even with the transformation, Bob knew his friend's past still loomed just under the surface.

Meanwhile Arlene had her own problems. She had not talked to Bob since the night he left her standing in front of her door. She deeply regretted lying to him but would not let that derail her from her quest. She was convinced in Kristyna's love for her husband and knew in her heart they belonged together.

As each week passed, Arlene could hear the woman becoming more and more desperate in their phone conversations. She made a promise to Kristyna but had no idea how she was going to keep it. There was no way she would go behind Bob's back again. She still prayed he would come back to her, but one more betrayal and she knew that would never happen.

She had just finished talking to a growingly impatient Kristyna again and was almost in tears from not knowing what to do, when fate fell into her lap.

"Arlene, Bob is on line one," she heard over the intercom.

Arlene literally dove for the phone. "Bob," she exclaimed. "Bob, I'm so happy you called."

"Don't get too excited," he flatly said, taking the wind out of her sails. "I'm just calling for that Kristyna's address. You said she lived in Peoria, right?"

"Yes, but what do you want with her address?"

"I want to go down there and talk to her."

Arlene could tell by the inflection in his voice that he hadn't changed his mind. He still believed Weaver's ex to be an evil woman who would hurt him again if given the chance. What did he want to talk to her about, she wondered? He wouldn't threaten her; that wasn't his style, but he might try to talk her into leaving Weaver alone. Suddenly she saw this as an opportunity.

"Bob, I won't give you her address but I will drive you down to see her," she stated.

Bob sighed. He knew Derick had to be the one who found Weaver's ex. He could just call him and get the address that way; truth was, he missed Arlene and this gave him the perfect opportunity to spend some time with her without having to swallow his pride.

"Alright, fine, you win," he relinquished. "We'll take my car. I'll pick you up Saturday morning."

"Make it eight," she replied. "I'll call and let her know we're coming so she'll be sure to be home."

As Bob hung up he still wasn't sure he was doing the right thing. Again he cursed Arlene's involvement. Why the hell did everything have to be so damned complicated, he asked himself?

Saturday morning, everything was very platonic when Bob picked Arlene up at her apartment. There were no tearful reunions. She knew better than to try and kiss him or show any affection. She was just glad for the opportunity to be with him and to be able to apologize one more time.

They had been riding in silence for the first half-hour before Arlene finally gathered her courage.

"Bob, at the risk of you stopping and making me walk home, I want to tell you again how sorry I am. I should have never lied to you."

He was silent for several moments. "We talked about it," he finally countered. "After talking to Eric, you agreed we should let it go. Then you went behind my back and did exactly what we both agreed we shouldn't do. How the hell am I supposed to trust you again after something like that?"

Before she had a chance to speak, he continued.

"Then, to make matters worse, you turn around and want to bring her back into Weaver's life. I don't care what she told you, she tore that man's heart out. You saw him; he had absolutely nothing to live for. Well you should see him now. You wouldn't recognize him. He actually smiles sometimes. He jokes around with the kids and they love him. He's a new man with a new outlook on life and you want to take a chance on destroying that all over again. I can't let that happen, Arlene, I won't let it happen."

Arlene got worried with his last statement. "What do you intend on doing when we get there?"

"I'm hoping to talk her out of contacting him. You say she loves him, we'll see. If she loves him she'll leave him alone and let him get on with his life."

"But..." Arlene stopped herself. She knew she wouldn't be able to convince him that Kristyna truly loved her husband, but she prayed Kristyna would. What she could do was work on her own problem.

"Bob, I'm sorry for lying to you but I really thought I could help. I believe the reason Weaver is having such a hard time is because he never got any answers. He never got closure. I thought that if I could talk to Kristyna woman to woman, got her side of the story, she might say something that could help Weaver."

"Like what?" asked Bob.

"I don't know...maybe nothing, but I wouldn't know until I talked to her. I believed Eric's story too. I figured she was probably every bit the bitch he made her out to be, but maybe, just maybe she had some other reason for running off; something that could ease some of Weaver's pain. I wouldn't know unless I talked to her."

She looked over at Bob and could see by his face that he didn't think much of her idea, but she wasn't going to give up.

"Bob, I knew you wouldn't want me to talk her but I really didn't see how it could hurt. If I came back with something that could help Weaver, fantastic; if not, well, no harm no foul. Nobody would even know I went. Then, after I talked to her, I knew I had a problem."

"That's just it, Arlene, it's not YOUR problem, it's Weaver's. You created it but he's the one who'll have to deal with it; and you're wrong about nobody getting hurt. He's going to get hurt...again!"

Arlene didn't say anything. She knew nothing she said was going to change his thinking. All she could do now was to give Kristyna a chance. She was relieved at his next statement.

"Let's not talk any more about it," Bob said, shaking his head. He turned on the radio and the last hour of their trip was spent listening to rock and roll.

When they approached Kristyna's apartment door, Bob rang the bell. A moment later a young boy opened the door. "Hello, Ms. Reynolds. Come on in. Mom is in the kitchen."

"Hi, Charlie. This is Mr. Rawlings, he's a friend of mine."

Charlie immediately stuck out his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Rawlings."

Bob shook his hand. "Hey, that's a pretty firm handshake you have there, Charlie."

The lad smiled. "Thanks," he said proudly. "Mom said you guys were coming to talk and that I should make myself scarce. She's making coffee in there," he said pointing in the direction of the kitchen. "I'm going out to play. With that he headed toward the door. "Bye," he said on his way out.

Bob wasn't sure what he expected but it wasn't that. Charlie was polite and respectful. Maybe he figured any woman who would do what she did to Weaver would bring her kid up to be just the opposite. Just then Kristyna appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. So far the whole experience wasn't what Bob imagined. She wasn't the tough, hard looking woman he'd envisioned. Although he could see she wasn't a woman of leisure, her face was kind...almost naïve with maybe a little fear in her eyes.

She looked at Arlene with a nervous smile. "Hi Arlene," she said as they both gave each other a slight hug. She approached Bob with her hand extended. "Mr. Rawlings, it's nice to meet you. Arlene called and said she was bringing someone else who knows my husband."

Bob smiled guardedly as he took her hand. He wondered how much she knew about his true purpose for being there. What did Arlene tell her?

Kristyna was definitely anxious; there was no hiding it. She poured the coffee and joined her two visitors at the table.

"Mr. Rawlings," she started. "I know why you came. Arlene said you were going to try and discourage me from seeing my husband. For the last ten years I've had no idea where he was or even if he was alive or dead. If he was alive, I couldn't understand why he would abandon me and our child...although," she pondered for a second, "I wasn't even sure he knew about the baby. I never got a chance to tell him. I knew nothing of the lies he was told until Arlene's visit a few weeks ago. Please, now that I've found him, you can't expect me to give him up again. You couldn't possibly be so cruel."

"Mrs...ah...I'm sorry, I don't even know what to call you. Did you ever divorce him?"

"No, and as far as I know he hasn't divorced me either," she told Bob.

"Yeah, I doubt that he ever filed for a divorce. I don't think it's ever even crossed his mind," Bob corroborated.

Bob took a sip of coffee and thought about how he wanted to proceed with what he had to say. "Look...Mrs. Adams, I'm not trying to be cruel. I'm sure the last ten years have been very hard for you, but..."

"Hard! You have no idea what hard is, Mr. Rawlings. Before he was born, I almost lost my baby twice from the stress of not knowing what happened to my husband. When he disappeared I was frantic. I called everyone I knew to try and find out where he was but no one would talk to me. I cried night and day for months. After Charlie was born, DCFS was going to take him away. I was diagnosed with clinical depression in the hospital and they said I couldn't care for him by myself; they considered me an unfit mother."

That brought a tear to her eye that she quickly wiped away, then continued.

"I had a friend down here who said she would help, so before they could come and take my baby, I left Chicago and came to Peoria. I used my maiden name to make it harder for them to track me. My friend helped me get a job as a waitress where she worked. We split shifts so one of us could stay home with the baby while the other was working. It took me three years to pull my life together; three years of crying, three years of praying. Finally I gave up. I accepted the fact that I would never see Chuck again. He would never meet his son. Now you come here and tell me you know where he is but you don't want me to see him; how can you even ask such a thing?"

Bob looked deeply into her eyes. As far as he could tell, she was sincere. He looked at Arlene who had an, 'I told you so,' expression. He just didn't understand; nothing made sense.

"Why did you tell Eric Schaeffer you were running away with your lover? Why did you tell him you were carrying another man's baby?"

"I didn't," she said emphatically. "I didn't; I have no idea where he came up with those lies," she cried.

Two cups of coffee each, and an hour later, Kristyna finished retelling her story to Bob. He really didn't know what to think anymore. Listening to Arlene tell the story and watching the emotion with which Kristyna told it were two different things. He was leaning toward believing her. Even if he did though, it didn't make any difference. He was still convinced Weaver might take off again at the mere mention of her name.

Kristyna could see the conflict in his face. "Mr. Rawlings, I know you and Arlene have Chuck's best interest at heart, but Charlie deserves his father and Chuck deserves to know he has a son. Arlene said he believed those lies they told him. It hurts knowing he could believe that about me but I will not judge him for it. I can't even imagine what he's been going through all these years and I understand you don't want to hurt him anymore, but I will tell you what I told Arlene; if you don't find some way to tell him about Charlie and me, I will go up there and find him, myself. If he refuses to believe me and would rather believe the lies, I can't do anything about it, but Charlie deserves to know his dad!"

On the ride back, Bob was quiet. Arlene waited for the first twenty minutes before saying anything but she just couldn't take it any longer.

"Well...do you believe her?"

"I don't know," he replied. "Whether it's the truth or not, I think she believes what she's saying."

"Oh Bob, come on! You really think she made it all up, then convinced herself it's true?"

"Arlene, at this point who knows what really happened. It sounds to me like she may have had a complete mental breakdown. Our minds can play tricks on us. Maybe the guy she ran away with dumped her and she couldn't take it. Maybe she couldn't deal with it and her mind blocked out the trauma of reality."

"Bob, that's a lot of 'maybes,'" commented Arlene.

"It can happen. Hell, if she's been telling herself that stuff for ten years, it's not hard to see how she could start believing it. Her story just doesn't add up. She says she didn't tell Eric she had a lover, but if that's true, where did he get the idea? Weaver was like a son to him. He had to know how much the guy loved his wife; how much it would hurt him to know she was cheating on him. Eric wouldn't say something like that if he didn't believe it...and what about that part where she said someone had gotten into their apartment while she and Weaver were at the training camp. She said there was stuff broken and scattered all around when she got home but nothing was stolen. Who would break into their apartment and not steal anything? None of it makes sense, Arlene."