Finding Home Pt. 07

Wednesday

Andy heard them about 1 AM. Drunken morons are not exactly stealthy, so it wasn't hard. He was relieved, for a part of him was worried they weren't going to show up, and he really wanted them to. He gently woke Sara, and she took the other girls into the showers and locked the heavy oak door. He checked his Sig, and grabbed his tactical flashlight. He went out the balcony, and shimmied the 20 feet down the side of the stone building. As he peered around the corner, he ducked down to listen and wait. The trick was to wait just long enough for them to make their intentions known. When one of the stooges threw a rock through the Commons glass door, Andy knew he had them. He waited until the three stepped through the broken glass into the entryway. They were now trapped in the space between the outer and inner doors of the Commons -- right where he wanted them.

As a boy/young man, Andy had lost two fights. The first was to Brian Jacobs' drunken father. That loss could be excused, it was a boy against a man, and the man was in an intoxicated rage. He supposed that the second loss could be forgiven as well; it was 3 against 1. But both losses did not sit well with Andy. After the second loss, he reached out to Big Jack O'Leary's younger brother, who handled "collections" for their family beer distributorship. Billy O'Leary was a brawler, pure and simple in the best of the Boston Irish tradition. He was more than happy to show Andy the ropes, and Andy proved himself to be a gifted student. Gentleman's rules had no place in a Southie street brawl, and punches were of secondary effectiveness to knees, elbows, and a well-placed kick when wearing heavy shoes. On this particular evening, Andy was wearing heavy boots. He smiled as he strode into the confined space, relishing the beating he was about to give these assholes.

30 second later, the 'fight' was over. The EMT report spoke of three patients with various injuries: all were unconscious when they arrived on scene, two had broken jaws, one had a broken nose. One had a badly mauled knee, one had a dislocated shoulder, and one had an elbow pointing the wrong way. All three were missing teeth. Sara had been composed enough to call 911 when the girls locked themselves in the showers. Before the police arrived, Andy texted Sara to tell her all was well, but they ought to stay where they were.

After he had given his statement to the police, he heard a voice behind him. "This could have gotten ugly," said Gloria Adams.

Andy chuckled, "I wondered when you'd be here. I take it this was why you put me in The Commons?"

"To be truthful, your grandfather and I had no idea they would try something this bold. Young men can do really stupid things around their peers. But Andrew, I'm really, really glad you were here."

She came to him and hugged him.

"So, what happens next?"

"All four are expelled, and you'll face a disciplinary hearing. Tomorrow morning I'll fire the head men's crew coach, and the AD. Both lobbied for those idiots to be slapped on the wrist when this happened before. I made them sign a paper stating that if there were any further incidents with those four, it would cost them their jobs. They've gift wrapped two incidents for me."

"You mentioned the Judge earlier. He was in on this?"

She nodded. "Andy, Chase Patterson threatened Eden this spring. As a mother, I wanted his head on a platter. As the provost, we couldn't prove anything. It was his word against hers. As I'm sure you've figured out, Eden and Sara did not have a great sophomore year. I call the Judge when I feel stuck and am not sure what to do. He's an impeccable judge of people."

Andy laughed. "That's what he said of you, as well."

There was a quiet pause in the conversation.

"Andy, there's something else you need to know," she paused. "I was really excited about the possibility of having you," she paused, "in Eden's life. So was Sean. He's been moping about the house all week, like a teenage girl whose boyfriend broke up with her. It's both cute and pathetic."

"Dr. Adams, that's the best commendation I think I have ever, and will ever, receive. The Judge thinks the world of you. That you would want and trust me with Eden is -- well -- I'm honored," said Andy.

"I know why Eden did what she did, and please know that she loves you and Sara very much. Sean and I are both disappointed, but very proud of her. She's done a very selfless thing, and judging from what I'm hearing, the right thing."

"So, you're saying your daughter is a shrewd judge of character?" Andy smiled.

"Andy, I like you quite a bit, so let's drop the smart assery and keep it that way," Dr. Adams joked.

"I need to ask you something," said Andy. "How do I tell Sara about this? Gloria, I wanted to kill these assholes. That's what I was trained to do. When you fight, there's no 'gentleman's rules.' You put the other guy down by any means necessary. They were planning on doing harm to someone I love, and two people I care about. This course of action is standard in the Corps, but probably not so standard at Colton."

"Well, just remember that you didn't kill them. We both know you could have, and you didn't. That's not a little thing. Second, why do you need to tell Sara? I'm not saying you keep secrets from her -- in fact, generally, you shouldn't. Andy, you did what needed to be done. Four really messed up young men are off our campus, and four terrific women will have a much better experience moving forward. You did that," she said.

Andy laughed. "They call themselves the Misfits. Hell, there's nothing misfit about them. They're amazing. It's all these prep school assholes who can't see it."

"Well, it's a good thing there's a man who cares for them and who tells them how amazing they are. I hear things, Andy. I know what you've done for your fellow students on this campus. I, for one, am glad you're at Colton. I think I know someone else who's glad, too."

Gloria nodded towards the entryway, where Sara stood watching him. Maintenance had quickly secured the broken glass door with plywood, and Sara was in the entryway between the outer and inner doors. Andy turned to Gloria, hugged her again, and turned to go inside.

Gloria called out to him, "Andy. We got an interesting phone call from the Second Lady of the United States." She smiled at him, "We're honored to be asked to attend. She's an amazing young woman. We're very happy for both of you." With that, she turned and walked away.

_________________________________________________________

At 2 AM, Andy headed out of the shower, up to the mezzanine level, and hopefully, to sleep. There were two mattresses on the floor, and he saw Kail, Sara, and Grace piled up like puppies. All three were fast asleep. Andy crawled into his bed, utterly exhausted. He was almost asleep, when he felt someone get into bed with him. He heard Sara say, "Goodnight baby," and felt her slide up against him. This time it was she who spooned him. "Mmm," he whispered. "Goodnight, Bellissima." He grasped her offered hand and fell dead asleep.

____________________________________________________________

Andy woke up late, and had to rush to shower and get to breakfast. All three women were fast asleep, so he moved quietly and quickly. He kissed Sara on the forehead as she slept, and then was out the door. The entire campus was abuzz about the events of the previous evening. Word had gotten out about the three stooges trying to break in to the Commons, and how they met their fate. Andy got his breakfast, and tried to eat as inconspicuously as possible.

"There he is," chimed Jeannie as she sat down across from him. Her bright red hair was in a ponytail, she had light makeup on, and she was wearing her Caps "Crimson Dynamo" t-shirt, and a pair of yoga pants. She looked night and day different from the girl he talked with for the first time two days ago.

"I thought we were friends, Andy? You're a bad-ass Marine who beats the shit out of knuckleheads and you don't tell me?" She laughed uproariously. "That was some serious Batman coolness you dropped on those assholes."

"Well, I'm glad somebody is in a good mood this morning," retorted Andy. "I had, as I guess you've heard, an eventful evening. I'm a bit worse for the wear, I'm afraid. Too much hooliganism, too little sleep," he smiled.

"On behalf of every woman on campus -- thank you," said Jeannie, suddenly very serious. "No woman should ever feel threatened. You did a very good thing, Andy."

"You want to know what's really funny? I honestly thought about letting them in, but warning the girls -- just so those idiots could get their asses kicked by three women. That would have been some poetic justice," he mused.

"Nah, you're too good a guy to do that," said the subdued Jeannie. "My house dad used to say it's the man's job to take out the trash. You're a man, Andy. You took out the damn trash."

They were soon joined by Cooper, Haylee, and Sydney. Andy hoped the conversation would not stay on the events of last night, and he was grateful when Jeannie instead popped a doozey of a question on the group.

"I have a question for all of you. I've never had this happen, so I'm not sure what to do. After hockey last night, two guys were totally chatting me up, but I don't really know them. I was oblivious to it, until JFed -- sorry, Andy -- Mrs. Fedorov pointed it out to me. On top of that, I'm not really very good at that stuff, so I'm just wondering how you know if a guy is Andy and Cooper, or if he's Chase and those assholes?" she asked her gathered friends.

"Well," said Sydney, "You're doing the first thing you need to do, which is ask your friends. If a guy is a player, or sketch, news will travel fast. Your female friends can tell you that. You can also ask your guy friends. If he's hesitant when he answers you, then you know the guy is no good."

"You should also find a guy who looks at you like Andy looks at Sara. I swear, I alternate between being really happy for her, and hating her damn guts," said Haylee laughing. "But there aren't too many Andy's floating around," she lamented.

"Can I say something?" asked Cooper.

"Duh, that's why I asked everybody the question," said Jeannie sarcastically.

"There aren't too many Andy's floating around because Andy knows who he is, and he's got -- I don't know what the word is," Cooper struggled.

"Andy's got swagger," said Sydney. "Andy's like Kanye: if you don't like me, here's the middle finger, baby."

"Well, unless you've got Andy swagger, it can be really hard to talk to girls and know what the hell they want. This freaking place makes it impossible, because you may get a girl pissed that you assumed her gender, or her sexuality. At Groton, it was drummed into our heads that 'no means no' and all the ways that stepping over a line could ruin your life. Half the guys I knew were too scared to even talk to a girl," explained a frustrated Cooper.

The table fell silent.

"Jeannie," asked Andy quietly, "have I ever hit on you?" He asked this while staring at his coffee.

She laughed, "No. But a girl can dream, can't she? I don't blame you, by the way. No way I'd leave Sara for me."

"But we are friends, right?"

"Andy, I've never had a guy friend like you, or Cooper."

"So, how did we become friends?" he queried her.

"Well, you talked to me. You found out about me. You gave me a chance to play hockey with you and Alex. You talked to me when I wasn't sure I wanted anybody to talk to me, honestly. You and your family have been really nice to me, even your grandmother," she said.

"So -- this whole time, we're talking and you never got the idea I'm trying to get into your pants?" he asked. "Sorry, I'm not trying to be crass."

"Absolutely, but again with the dreaming thing," she quipped.

"As much as I appreciate the swagger theory, I call bullshit," said Andy. "I got to know Sara and Eden just like I got to know Jeannie: as people, not as potential asses I wanted to tap. You three ladies are amazing, and I'm glad to be your friend, just like I'm glad to be friends with Kail and Grace. There's more to being a person than who you sleep with. Talk to a woman, listen to her, get to know her. Same goes for dudes. If something comes out of it, great. If not, you've still made a friend. Personally, I want all the friends I can get."

"So, what if -- say for example -- I really dig Cooper and want him to ask me out, but he's kind of oblivious?" asked Sydney, none too coyly.

"If you're friends, you talk to him about it. Or, you talk to his friends and have them drop the hint. My grandfather told us all the time that the world really runs on relationships. Friendship is a basic human relationship, but we're too connected to screens and other shit to know how to connect to other people. No wonder we're anxious and depressed. Put your phone down and talk to the person next to you for fuck's sake," said Andy with a growing sense of passion.

The table was silent as they looked at him, dumbstruck. It was awkwardly quiet for a couple of minutes. The table ate in silence.

"Hey listen," said Andy finally. "I'm really tired from taking out the trash last night, and I'm being an asshole. I'm sorry. Please pardon my rant -- last night was a bit rough, and today is starting as more of the same. People should be talking about how well Jeannie played last night, but instead everybody's buzzing about four assholes who got their asses kicked by two girls and a crazy Marine."

"Now it's our turn to call bullshit," said Cooper.

"I agree with Cooper," said Haylee. "Those guys were a cancer on this campus. You and the Misfits cut it out. It's like when the Wicked Witch dies in the Wizard of Oz. All the little people are ecstatic. But it's really cool that you think Jeannie's getting dissed. For what it's worth, Jeannie, you did kick ass last night."

______________________________________________________

Andy was headed out of the Dining Commons when his phone rang. He looked at his caller ID and smiled, "Good morning, Mrs. Fedorov. To what do I owe the honor of this call?" Andy said with a mixture of cheerfulness (feigned) and sarcasm (real).

"Andrew David, you are the only brother that I have, and I love you dearly. Are you OK? Dr. Adams called me this morning at 6 and filled me in."

"I'm fine, Jessica, thank you," he replied -- waiting for what he knew was coming next.

"Droobie, I really want to chew your ass out -- but like I said - Dr. Adams called me and she told me everything. Please know, little brother, that the ass chewing you think you're going to get is going to the Judge. The position he put you in makes me absolutely irate," she said warmly.

"'Sica please; you know the Judge. He's a fixer. This is what he does. It would be like asking grandma not to be elegant and gracious. He's an old dog, don't waste your new tricks," he said thoughtfully.

"Drew, you had no idea about Christopher and Ellen because he kept it from you. He did so because he didn't think you could handle it -- and I'm inclined to agree. But then, he goes and uses you as a 'deterring presence' for two women you've never met in a FUBAR situation? To quote our friend Kail, 'I call bullshit!' This was too much," she fumed.

"Jessica, it's OK. The Judge and I know something you don't about wounded combat veterans. We all want to know if we could get back on the horse if we had to. Well, last night I had to get back on the horse. I actually owe him one for this," explained Andy.

"That is the most asinine thing I've ever heard!" she yelled.

"Jess, do you like Sara?" he asked her calmly.

"That's a dumb ass question, Droobie. I freaking love her, and you damn well know that," she said curtly.

"If the Judge and Dr. Adams had not put me in the Commons as a deterring presence, I would never have met Sara. Jess, I get that you're pissed, but I need you to understand that I met the woman I love more than anything because of their little scheme. I owe them. They did me a solid."

"Andrew, we're not done with this conversation, but we need to change gears. You have an excused absence this morning from your Calc class. I need you to go to Conference Room A in the Dining Commons. There should be food there, and I'm on my way. Sara, Kail and Grace are on their way as well. We need to sit down and talk about what comes next. Kail and Grace's families have appointed me as their legal counsel for the disciplinary hearings. Grandma hired me to handle you, as well."

"Jess, I hardly think a college disciplinary hearing needs a lawyer of your caliber -- if we need a lawyer at all," replied Andy.

"Well, it's a three-person panel. Normally it's the VP of Student Development, the Dean of Students, and the Provost. The Dean of Students is in Africa, and so unavailable. Gloria Adams has recused herself, citing a conflict of interest. The President is taking her place on the panel, and the Judge basically hired him," she explained.

"So, where's the problem?" asked Andy.

"The VP for Diversity and Inclusion is taking the Dean's place, and she's a wackadoo. I've looked at her CV, and read some of the papers she's given at diversity conferences. I don't know what reality she lives in, but it makes me nervous. On top of that, she's got a chicken-shit law degree from what amounts to a socialist institution. She'll be out to nail your ass just because you're a white male, even though she'll claim she believes that both race and gender are merely social constructs. Gloria and I are worried. Listen, I'm here. I'll see you in a few minutes," and she abruptly hung up.

Andy saw Sara, Kail, and Grace walk in. This was not their best morning, but Andy thought Sara looked beautiful. She was wearing yoga pants, one of his Marine Corps t-shirts -- knotted at the waist, and her Caps ballcap. The others were dressed in their workout apparel, and they all looked exhausted.

"Good morning," Andy said as he gave her a long hug, and a kiss.

"Hi, baby," she said softly. As they stood there, she buried her head in his chest and began to cry.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," protested Andy. "Sara, what's going on?" He continued to hold her until she stopped crying.

"I'm sorry," she said. "This whole thing just freaks me out. And then - and you're going to think I'm a crazy girlfriend - you left this morning without saying anything to me. Baby, please don't ever do that again. I love our time in the morning. I woke up this morning all pissy because we couldn't have any time in the shower."

Andy smiled. "OK, I hear you loud and clear. Just to be clear, last night was crazy and you were sleeping pretty hard when my watch buzzed. I didn't want to disturb you. I did kiss you on the forehead, and you didn't move an inch when I did. And, for the record, Miss Jones-Easley, my whole day has been out of kilter because we didn't have any time in the shower. My Misfits think I'm crazy after I ranted about friendship and men and women. Shitty coffee, and no time with Bellissima makes Andy cranky, I'm afraid."

She giggled, kissed him and whispered, "You can make it up to me tonight, baby. Just thinking about what you did to those assholes, and how you protected us? Andy, I want you so bad right now I can't see straight. You can't imagine how hot I am for you."

"I love you," he said emphatically. "Tonight cannot come soon enough for me. I need some time with you. I love the sex, but I love lying naked with you afterward, just talking, maybe as much."

"Well, we'll have to be quiet," she said. "I think we have two new roommates."

"I'm glad. All the Misfits should be together, I think. We can put our bed on the bottom level, and your Crew mates can have the mezzanine. We'll get a sound machine, or something."