What The Future Holds

"Well, What did he say?" Sherry asked.

"Frank told me that he would make some calls and get back to me as soon as he learned anything." Joe replied.

"What I don't understand is why no one from the Marines has contacted you guys yet." Carol Stated.

"Frank wondered about that as well, and the only thing he could come up with was that we were never put on the next of kin to be contacted information in Jamie's file" Joe explained.

"But why wouldn't he have listed us as next of kin? We are his parents!" Sherry asked.

"Well if you recall his goodbye letter being the dictionary definition of the word betrayal I think that should pretty much answer that question" Joe grimly replied.

"This is all my fault! If it hadn't been for me Jamie would be sitting in a dorm room at MIT right now, instead of being in some hospital bed in a foreign country!" Carol stated through her tears.

"Carol we have been through this. We all did wrong by Jamie, it wasn't just you!" Sherry exclaimed.

"Maybe so, but I am the one who started it all!" Carol stated.

"Look! We can all play the blame game later. Right now we need to focus on what is important, and that is finding out where Jamie is and getting to him!" Joe exclaimed taking control of the situation.

Just then Joe's phone began to ring, and the caller ID said Frank Miller.

"Yes Frank. OK let me write this down. OK! Yah! Thanks again Frank I can't tell you how much I appreciate this. OK Bye!" Joe exclaimed.

"Frank said that Jamie's location was being kept classified for security reasons, but he gave me a number to call." Joe said.

Joe dialed the number, and within a half an hour there were two military personal were making their way through the news reporters and knocking at the Mantles door. After introducing themselves and confirming the identities of Carol and the Mantles, the colonel began to explain the situation.

"It seems that James was a member of an elite security team whose job was cracking codes used by the enemy to send secret messages between one another. Somehow James learned of the attack, and for reasons which have now been classified took it upon himself to investigate. As best we could tell there was an exchange of gun fire, which wounded James, but killed the other two assailants. James apparently drove their vehicle, which was loaded with enough explosives to destroy the entire building with everyone inside, to a nearby bridge, jumping out just in time before the truck was sent over the railing and into the river below. James is being credited with saving the lives of the Vice President, who was visiting that day, several ambassadors, and everyone else in the building and surrounding area." Colonel Bucket explained.

"What about Jamie? Is he alright? When can we see him? Sherrie asked a mile a minute.

"James is in a private hospital in a undisclosed location under heavy guards for security reasons. You were not listed as a next of kin, and I am afraid I cannot discuss his medical condition with you, except to say that he is alive." The colonel replied.

"Look Colonel, We had a sort of falling out with Jamie a few years back, but he is still our son. You and I both know that the President will use this situation to advance his political agenda. There are over 20 reporters standing right outside that door. I could either reply to their questions with no comment, or I could tell them how the military is keeping us from our wounded son, the hero, and refusing to divulge his medical condition. Just what type of publicity do you wish to generate?" Joe asked.

"Please give me a moment I have to make a phone call." Colonel Bucket replied.

Upon returning Coronal Bucket stated "James is in fair condition. His left arm is broken, but the surgeons have removed the shrapnel with no permanent damage other then scarring. He is cut up quite a bit from jumping out of the truck and has a mild concussion when his head hit the pavement. I am authorized to take you and Mrs. Mantle to the airport, where you will board a private plane that will take you to where James is being held. I am sorry Miss. Dawson, but only James parents are allowed to go. I must however ask that you not discuss anything that you have heard here today with anyone, as security is sill our primary concern." The colonel stated.

"What about our employers?" Joe asked.

"We will take care of that." The colonel replied.

"How should I dress" Sherry asked.

"For warm weather." He said.

"Sherry, please tell Jamie that I am so sorry, and if there is anything at all I can ever do for him please don't hesitate to ask." Carol replied as she was escorted back to her home.

48 hours later the Mantles found themselves in a small hospital of which they had no idea of its local.

"Sergeant, you have visitors." His commander said.

"Who?" James asked.

"Your parents are here." He said.

"But how? What are they doing here? Jamie asked bewildered.

"They are here to see you. Shall I send them in? His commander asked.

"Are they alone?" Jamie wanted to know.

"Yes, a Miss Dawson wanted to come with them, but it just wasn't allowed." He said.

"Do I have to see them?" Jamie asked.

"Well I could order you to, but I would rather not have to do that." His commander replied.

"Very well Sir, please send them in" Jamie said dejectedly.

"Hello son, how are you feeling" His mom asked.

"Well I have seen better days." Jamie relied.

"I hear that you're a national hero now. Son I can't begin to tell you how proud we both are of you." His dad said.

"Gee if I only knew that all it would take is gunning down a couple of terrorist, getting shot, jumping out of a truck that was going off a bridge and saving the Vice President to get your approval, I could have gone straight for the gusto and skipped all that straight A crap in high school." Jamie sarcastically replied.

"Son, we know that we missed up by not believing in you in high school, but you never even gave us a chance to apologize. You just took off, not letting anyone know where you were, or what you were doing. If it hadn't been for you making national headlines we still wouldn't know where you were. Speaking of which, where are we anyway? No one will tell us?" His dad asked.

"Actually, no one will tell me either." Jamie stated as the three of them burst out laughing.

"Ow! Whoever said that laughter was the best medicine has never tried to do it while recovering from being shot!" Jamie stated through a half grin.

"Jamie, all of us are very sorry for whatever part we played in causing you to leave town, and by all of us I speak for Carol as well." His mother began.

"Mom I can never forget what happened, or the fact that none of the people that I trusted or cared about either believed in or stood up to help me when I needed it. I will try to get past it and move on, but what Carol did to me I cannot forgive. There is a side to that woman that you have never seen, and I never want to see again. It will take time, but eventually I hope that I'll be able to forgive you and Dad, and start to build at least some type of relationship between us. Know this, however I do not ever plan to see, nor do I not want to hear about the likes of Carol Dawson. To me she doesn't exist, and if you continue to bring up her name it is going to be really difficult for us to bond again." Jamie said.

"Oh, by the way Mom, I haven't gone by the name Jamie since I left. Please try and call me James from now on." He requested.

The Mantles soon left Jamie to get some rest, and were escorted to a small apartment near the hospital, where the military had put them up for the time being. It was obvious that Jamie still held a lot of resentment towards them for what they allowed to happen to him in high school. Sherrie knew that Carol felt terrible for what she did to him, and although there were extenuating circumstance, for which Jamie knew nothing about, Sherry was bound to secrecy by the promise that she had made.

For the next few weeks the Mantles lived in the apartment near the hospital. They visited daily, and although their relationship was improving his mother still managed to slip Carols name into their conversation from time to time. Jamie was told that he would be awarded the congressional medal of honor, and was being solely credited for saving the lives of everyone in the embassy building that day, including the Vice President. He was offered a promotion, and a big signup bonus if her would reenlists for another few years, and although it was tempting, he respectfully declined stating that he had other plans in the works. Sherry had assumed that Jamie would be moving back home now that his military service was complete, and was noticeable disappointed to learn that he was moving to California and going into business with a friend he had met a few years back.

"Mom, this is a golden opportunity! My friend Nate has developed a glasslike material that is totally impervious to fingerprints. His only problem is that the standard methods of making a screen touch sensitive does not work with it. If I can come up with a way to make his material touch sensitive it could revolutionalize the entire computerized industry, and subsiquentially make us a fortune in the process.

Although Joe and Sherry were not exactly thrilled with his decision to move out west, or the risky venture he was about to partake in, they knew that to not support Jamie this time would surely be the end of their relationship. While keeping their doubts to themselves, they wished their son the best of luck in his new business venture and returned home soon after his award ceremony.

For the next few years Jamie threw himself into his work at the expense of having much of a social life. He redesigned electrodes and developed a processing unit that not only worked with Nate's "Zombie Glass" as they decided to name it, but was faster, more reliable to the human touch, and would required significantly less power to operate then most of the touch devices on the market at the time. The concept was to have a separate smaller but powerful processor for the sole purpose of controlling the touch panel. This allowed the main processor of the unit to be directed to the other functions of the device. The result was that the tiny bit of energy that the small processor used made it possible for the main processor to consume far less power than it normally would have if it performed all of the functions on its own.

The president and his staff decided to unseal the classified documents of the terrorist attack and use them to help gain public support for war effort. Jamie was asked to accompany the Vice President as a guest speaker on several talk shows as well as other media appearances. Although not really wanting to do this, Jamie did have to agree with Nate that the public image he would portray by being a well known national hero might open doors normally closed to a new small company like theirs in the business world. It also seemed to open many bedroom doors for him as well, because now he was receiving more offers for dates then most porn stars. Although not going totally overboard, Jamie did use this opportunity to advance his sexual skills, while being very careful not to lead anyone into thinking that a long term relationship was possible, or leaving behind a part of himself that would cause a problem nine months down the road.

Success came fast and furious as business began to realize the enormous potential of "Zombie Glass". Everyone wanted exclusive rights, and they were willing to pay big money for it. Nate and Jamie were too smart for that, and knew that if the majority of the industry switched to using their technology, the royalties generated would far surpass the exclusive contracts that were being offered. Some of the big companies tried to play hardball by initially refused to adapt to their equipment. They soon realized that to not keep up with the latest trends and essentially put outdated products on store shelves would greatly diminish their hold over the market share.

Rich, successful and a national hero to boot, Jamie found that every woman that he came into contact with was looking for an engagement ring. Doing the only logical thing he stopped dating, and when arm candy was needed for a public affair, or personal gratification for a private one, he used Mrs. Tate's professional escort services.

During this whole time Jamie had only moderate contact with his parents, usually his mother. He had begged off going home for visits or holidays claiming to have other plans, or be too busy with his company. It came as quite a surprise to him when his secretary announced that his father was on line two.

"James, I just called to tell you that your mothers biopsy came back negative." He said with joy in his voice.

"Biopsy! What biopsy?" Jamie asked.

"Oh I though she told you. The doctors found a lump on her side. Luckily it turned out to be just some scar tissue from an accident she had a few years ago. She probably didn't want to worry you since she knew you were busy with work." His father replied.

"I don't care how busy I am, I have a right to know when something like this is going on. She is still my mother you know!" Jamie exclaimed.

"Take it easy son! I agree with you, but like I said I thought that you already knew. The good news is that it was not cancerous, and your mother should be back to her old self in a couple of weeks." Joe explained.

"I'm sorry!!! I know your right, but she still should have told me. May I please speak to her?" Jamie asked.

"No can do son. She is asleep right now. I just got the good news myself, and decided to call you first before. Jamie's Dad started to say something and then stopped.

"Oh let me guess, before you call Carol. Right?" Jamie asked.

"Son, I know how you feel about Carol, but she has become one of your mothers closest friends. I think that Carol has been trying to make it up to your mother for causing you to leave like you did. All three of us carry the blame for what happened, and I don't see any one of us forgiving ourselves any time soon. Carol had became very depressed after you left. There were circumstances going on in her life at the time that you are still unaware of." Joe stated.

"So enlighten me!" Jamie exclaimed.

"I wish I could son, but it is Carols place to tell you if she chooses, not mine. Your mother and Carol would both skin me alive if I did. I have said too much already. Please, whatever you do don't mention this to your mother. She has been though enough already and I don't want to do anything that would upset her."

"I promise not to mention anything about Carol to mom, but I do plan on coming to see her just as soon as I can get a flight out." Jamie said.

"Actually James, why don't you hold off on that until she is feeling better. I know that she would far more enjoy a visit from you when she is back on her feet. Can you possibly come for thanksgiving? Joe asked. I am sure that she would be all better by then, and I know that she would get a kick out of having you home for the holidays." He said.

"Well Dad, I won't be able to spend the entire week, but I guess that I could arrange to be gone a few days for thanksgiving and maybe a week during Christmas." Jamie replied.

"James, you have no idea how happy that would make us! Joe exclaimed. "Son, I know that you don't want to hear this, but Carol always spends the holidays with us. If your mother has to choose between the both of you, she'll pick you, but it will tear her up inside not to be able to invite Carol." Joe stated.

"Well you're right, that wasn't what I wanted to hear, but if mom is so hell bent on having the both of us for the holidays, then I guess I will try my best to act as civil as possible. I make no promises beyond that, however." Jamie said.

"Ok son, so the plan is that we don't tell your mother that we talked, and when she calls you in a few days to extend her yearly invitation for the holidays you'll tell her that you can make it after all?" Joe asked.

Yah! Dad that sounds good. I guess I'll be seeing you soon." Jamie replied.

"James, thank you. I know that I don't say this often enough, and lord knows that I sure as hell didn't while you were growing up, but I do love you son, and I am very, very proud of you as well." Joe stated with a crack in his voice.

"I love you too dad, actually I love the both of you, and then said with a chuckle in his voice to lighten the mood, "But sometimes I don't like you guys all that much!" Jamie exclaimed.

"Joe could not keep the laughter out of his voice when he replied " Ditto, son Ditto! Before ending the phone call.

Jamie's mother called about a week latter to extend her yearly invitation for him to join them for the holidays, although she pretty much knew he would not accept.

"You know mom, I really have been feeling a bit homesick lately. I suppose that I could get away for a few days during thanksgiving and maybe even a week during Christmas." Jamie said.

"Oh my god James do you mean it?" She asked.

"Yah mom I do!" Jamie exclaimed.

"Well there is just one small problem. You see I didn't actually think that you would accept, because you never have before. I want to see you more than anything, but I have already invited Carol to join us as well. If I have to I will resend her invitation, but I really don't want to do that. I know it is a lot to ask, but do you think that you could try to get along with her. I promise she won't be around the whole time that you are here?" His mom asked while waiting for the fireworks to start.

"Mom I don't ever see myself forgiving Carol for what she did, but I know that the two of you have become really good friends. If it takes putting up with the likes of her for a few hours to be able to visit you, then I guess I can try and be civil." Jamie stated.

"Oh Jamie you have made me so happy! I can't wait to get started. I'm going to cook all your favorites. We'll have turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, homemade bread, pies, cakes." She was saying before being interrupted.

"Mom! Please if I eat all of that I may have to shopping for all new cloths, because my current ones won't fit anymore, besides you don't need to go to that much trouble, I am just coming for a visit." Jamie said.

"Nonsense it will be my pleasure. You just stay out of my kitchen and leave the menu to me! My boy is finally coming home!" She exclaimed with such joy in her voice that Jamie felt bad about all those times he blew off her earlier invitations.

And so it was settled. The proverbial son was finally going back home. Now the only problem was how to sit down and break bread with the woman who destroyed his life a decade ago.

So the time finally came when Jamie was to return to his home town. Although he could have easily afforded to rent a private plane for his trip, hell he could have purchased one if he so desired, Jamie reasoned that the use of public transportation would draw less notoriety to his presence. This was a personal visit, and he was not looking for the fanfare or a hero's welcome from the town. Deciding to rent a car was the obvious choice, as it not only allowed him a means of escape if things got too difficult at his parent's house, but it spared him a public scene in the airport terminal. As the driveway he vacated years before came into his line of vision Jamie had to squelch the urge to drive on bye without stopping. Standing on the front porch with his bags in hand, just after knocking, Jamie was completely stunned to have a little boy answer the door.

Finding his voice Jamie asked. "Hello their son. Is Mr. or Mrs. Mantle here?"

Without directly answering him Timmy yelled out "Grandma, there is some man here to see you."