Mending Fences

Chase looked over and said, "You better make weight tomorrow, Zach!"

"I will! No doubt about it!" the very muscular young man replied.

"He's dropping down to the next lower weight class, and it's been touch and go trying to get there."

"Oh," Ella said, not sure what that meant.

He glanced down at his watch then said, "I've got class, but I'll explain it tomorrow. After the match. If you're still coming."

"Um...yes. I'll be there," she told him.

"And before I forget, let me grab your tickets. They're in my room, so if you'll follow me...."

Chase had three minutes left before class started, but Ella didn't know that as she walked with him.

"You look really great, by the way," Chase said as they walked.

"Oh. Thank you."

Ella had forgotten she'd made an extra effort to look nice, but hearing Chase mention it caused the first little butterflies to return.

"You're welcome," he said as he pointed to a door and told her that was his room.

He unlocked it, let her go in first, then flipped on the lights.

"A chemistry lab. I don't think I've ever been in one before," Ella remarked as she looked around.

Chase laughed as he opened his desk and got out the envelope with her name on it. Steve's was also there, and as he handed it to her, he told her he didn't know her last name.

"I didn't want to assume it was Pratt."

"No. I've thought about changing it back, but it's Curtis."

As she put the white envelope in her purse, Chase said, "Ella Curtis. Got it."

Feeling almost happy again, Ella finally smiled.

"I keep thinking that by the time I go to court to change it, that maybe, if I'm lucky, I might find someone, and...."

She didn't need to finish her thought for Chase to understand where she was going.

"You're beautiful, Ella. You won't have any trouble finding someone if that's what you want."

The butterflies came back in full force then disappeared as the bell rang, startling her so badly that she yelped.

Chase tried not to laugh as Ella put her hand on her chest and said, "Be still my beating heart!"

The young chemistry teacher then did laugh and said, "I hope to have that effect on you myself someday."

Had it been said by anyone else, it would have cause Ella to roll her eyes. But hearing it from Chase brought back the butterflies en masse and a tingle, to boot.

Students began filing in, so Ella excused herself and thanked him for the tickets. Chase walked her back to the door but stayed there because once students began arriving, he had to have 'eyes on' at all times.

"Ella? I'm so glad you came," he told her as girls filed by smiling, ogling, and even flirting with their handsome teacher.

"You're very popular," Ella said, ignoring his comment as her worries came back.

"They're children," Chase told her.

He smiled then said, "I'm not interested in children."

He smiled again then said, "I am, however, very interested in a woman, though. A very particular woman."

"Oh?" Ella said, her insecurities still rearing their ugly head.

"Uh-huh. She's amazing. She's a little older than me, but I'm hopeful that won't be an issue for her once she gets to know me better."

"Well, she should at least be willing to give you a chance, don't you think?" Ella replied, a half-smile forming on her lips.

"I hope so, because I really like this woman."

"She's a very lucky girl then."

The tardy bell rang before Chase could reply, and this time Ella didn't even flinch.

Chase put his hand on her forearm then told her he'd see her tomorrow.

"Yes. Yes, you will," Ella said, before he turned and addressed the class, closing the door behind him.

The first question he got was from the class clown who asked who the hottie was.

"Oh. Well, with any luck, that beautiful woman is the future Mrs. Reynolds," Chase told him with a straight face, drawing some 'oohs' and 'aahs' from the class along with a few laughs.

One girl said, "Um...isn't she a little too old for you, Mr. Reynolds?"

He started to answer when one of the boys said, "Cougars are hot, okay?"

The girl made a face then started to say, "Shut your mouth!" when Chase spoke louder and suggested they get started.

As Ella headed back toward the 'metropolis' of Havelock, she was a boiling cauldron of emotions ranging from excitement to fear. She kept telling herself this was nothing but a meeting and maybe a date, but there was a part of her that wouldn't let go of the possibility that it could something more. But what 'something more' met was so ill-defined that she found herself unable to settle down and relax.

Fortunately, after she picked up the kids, Derek's first words were about going to the wrestling match tomorrow night, and his incessant chatter on the ride home helped his aunt to get back to some semblance of normalcy. At least until they got home and she had time to think.

It was around 8pm before she was able to calm down, and just when she realized she wasn't thinking about Chase Reynolds, she got a text from him.

"Hi, Ella. I wanted to tell you what an amazing, pleasant surprise it was to have you stop by today. I've been obsessed with tomorrow's match for several reasons, and it was really nice to be able to let go of that stuff. Again, I'm really looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. If you see me scanning the crowd I'll be trying to find you. Not that wrestling matches draw huge crowds. :-)"

Ella was so happy to get his text that she went back to the school's website to find out what the school's colors were. They were red, white, and black, and she already knew what she'd be wearing as she replied to Chase's text.

"I was a little worried about dropping in on you unexpectedly, so knowing that you were okay with it makes me feel better. And you will definitely see me there tomorrow. Steve is planning on coming, too, and Derek is so excited he's been watching nothing but wresting videos on his phone and iPad."

She almost added, "I'm excited, too," but stopped short of doing that.

She put a happy face at the end then hit 'send'.

Within seconds she got another text.

"You could never bother me, Ella. So feel free to stop by the school or anywhere else anytime you like. And I'll see you tomorrow!"

Ella's smile stretched from ear to ear as she tapped out, "Yes, you will!"

They ate dinner early on Friday, and once they were done Ella said, "I'm going to wear the school colors tonight. If you'd like to do the same, find something red, white, and black."

Derek was off in an instant and Chloe told her aunt she wanted to do that but needed some help. Steve even surprised her and told her he'd play along, too.

"For Chase's sake," he said with a smile that made Ella think there's was more to the comment.

By 6:15 the two girls were wearing red sweaters with white blouses underneath. Ella wore black pants while Chloe wore a black skirt. Derek had a red shirt on, a white tee shirt under it, and surprised everyone by wearing a black tie. Ella didn't have the heart to tell him he looked like a nerd, and in the end, it really didn't matter.

When his aunt told him he looked very handsome, Derek blushed a little, but Ella didn't mention it. She was just happy to see him smiling again, but then she realized she was feeling happy, too, and that made her smile. Again.

As Chase had said, the crowd was pretty light. There were maybe a hundred people in the gym in addition to the two wrestling teams, and Chase spotted the red, white, and black family the moment they walked in. He was giving the team a final pep talk but cut it short when he saw Ella.

"I'll be right back!" he told the team captain as he jogged over to say hello.

"Chase!" Steve said as he stuck out a hand.

"Hey, sir!" the young coach replied, forgetting he could call him Steve.

"Good luck tonight," Steve said.

"Derek. Looking good, my man!" Chase said as he shook the boy's hand.

"We're wearing the school's colors."

Chase smiled but didn't laugh as he looked at Ella and said to Derek, "I noticed."

He said hello to Chloe then told her, "Wow. Don't you look nice," before looking at Ella.

"Go Bears!" Ella said as she raised her right hand and made a fist.

Chase laughed, said it too, then told her, "I gotta get back, but I had to say hello."

"I'm glad you did and good luck," she told him.

Chase jogged back over to his team just as the referee blew his whistle and called the captains out on the mat.

Ella realized she had no idea how wrestling matches were scored and asked Steve for help.

He had to check his phone to be sure then explained.

"Okay, the team scores points based on individual wrestlers. A pin is worth 6 points. You can also score, 5, 4, or 3 points depending on the number of points you win by if you don't pin your opponent. Fifteen or more is worth 5 points, 8-14 is worth 4, and seven points or less is worth 3."

Still not sure what that meant, Ella thanked him just as the first two opponents got ready to start. Throughout the entire match, Ella found herself yelling, wincing, and even screaming depending on what happened and who won. It took her a couple of matches to have any idea what was going on, but she figured out that the referee called out the number of points for whatever a wrestler did. All she had to do was look at the scoreboard to see who got the points then cheer if the people supporting New Bern cheered.

By the time they got to the final match, the heavyweights, Ella was on pins and needles aa the match was so close that the winner of this pairing would determine the overall winner.

Ella still couldn't figure out what earned points other than an escape and a pin, so when the referee blew his whistle and slapped the mat for the New Bern wrestler, she knew he'd pinned his opponent and went crazy. She was so excited in her own right that she didn't see Derek going bonkers in his own way. Nor did she see Steve watching both of them as Chloe asked her dad what was wrong with her brother and aunt.

"I'm not sure, honey, but something tells me they might like the same person. Only for very different reasons."

Chloe had no idea what he meant as the din died down, but she did know her daddy was happy, and she also knew they were stopping for ice cream on the way home.

After the teams and coaches shook hands, Chase sent his team to the locker room then headed straight for Ella. But Derek assumed he was headed his way and ran over to meet him.

"I want to be a wrestler!" the young boy said so enthusiastically it made Chase stop.

"That's fantastic! We'll get together and work on that, okay?"

"Really? That would be SO cool!"

"Is it okay if I say hello to your aunt?" Chase asked, hoping to be excused.

"Oh, sure. She was really excited, too."

Steve realized what was going on, and stuck a hand out, congratulated the coach, then grabbed the kids and gave Ella some privacy.

"You guys were great!" Ella bubbled.

"Thanks, but it was all them. They really worked hard. We're rebuilding this year, and I couldn't be prouder of them."

"True, but the coach gets all the glory, right?"

Ella thought about commanders in the military then said, "And the blame."

Chase laughed then told her she was right before getting to the real reason he was talking to her.

"Ella. I was hoping maybe we could get together again sometime."

Without hesitation, Ella told him, "Yes. That would be great."

"I really have to get to the locker room before the guys do something crazy, but I'll call you tomorrow?"

"Yes. Please do," Ella told him as the thought of 'doing something' made her happy just as she realized the double entendre and laughed then shivered.

Chase promised he would then waved to Steve and the kids and told Derek he'd see him soon.

"Promise?" Derek called back.

Chase stopped, looked right at him, then said, "I do."

He smiled at Ella one more time then jogged off the gym floor where the mat was already being rolled up to be put away for the basketball team the following evening.

Derek started in again about wrestling and how awesome the match was and how he was going to wrestle in high school and college just like Chase. His aunt and father said, "Oh. Uh-huh. Really," and other such things as he went on the entire way home. Chloe was so bored and tired she fell asleep after getting ice cream during which her brother monopolized the entire conversation there, too.

But when they got home and got the kids in bed, Steve finally mentioned what was on his mind.

"El? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"You tell me," her brother said with a smile.

"What? What's so funny?"

"Sorry. I wasn't making light."

"Okay. Could you at least make sense?" his sister said in reply.

"I couldn't help but notice the way you looked at Chase."

Too stunned to speak, Steve kept talking.

"And he was looking at you the same way."

"What...way?" Ella said much too defensively.

"I think it's great," her brother said, surprising her even more.

"You do?"

The look on Ella's face was priceless.

"Look. Your...ex...shit all over you. You've had a rough last year or two, and Chase is a really great guy."

Ella hadn't said a word about her feelings, and it was very unlike Steve to be in touch with his, let alone hers. But somehow...he knew.

Once she admitted how she'd been feeling, Steve got more serious and asked her if she wanted to talk.

"Yes, but where's my brother and what have you done with him?" she teased.

"I know I'm a guy, but I'm not blind, El."

She finally smiled and then started talking. There wasn't all that much to say, but she started at Genesis and ended up with Revelation, a book many believed ended in an 's' but didn't.

"Wow. So is this serious?" her brother asked, a little surprised at how passionately his sister spoke about this man she barely knew.

"I...I don't know," Ella quietly replied.

"Would you like it to be?"

"I don't know that, either."

"Whatever happens, it's really nice to see you smiling, El. I've missed that."

She looked down for a second then said, "Diane died, Steve. My...shitty ex-husband just cheated on me, but here you are worrying about how I'm doing."

Steve saw her tearing up and moved over and sat next to her. He put his arm around her then said, "Family really is the most important thing, El. And we're family."

She rested her head on his shoulder then said, "Yes, we are. And I don't say it often enough, but...I love you."

"Okay. Let's not get carried away here," Steve said as though his manhood was suddenly in doubt.

But he pulled his sister closer then told her he loved her, too.

"But I'm not saying that again for several years, got it?" he said with faux sternness.

"Your secret is safe with me, big brother!" she said as she snuggled up a little closer.

"Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I'm...desperate?"

"Desperate?"

"Chase is...."

"Young. Yes, I know," her brother said.

"And I'm not. Young."

"Were we in our 20s again and looking at first marriages, I'd say you were making a mistake."

"So what's different now? Other than being a lot older?" Ella asked with genuine interest.

"Diane was four months younger than me and she's gone. Your husband, your shitty ex-husband, was a couple of years older than you, and he's...a shit."

Ella laughed but let Steve finish.

"He was that, but the important thing is he's gone, too."

"But what does that have to do with age?" his sister wanted to know.

"It's just not as important now."

"No? Why not?"

"Because other things matter more. Age could be a huge issue. Even a deal breaker. But if the other person is compatible with you in the areas that count, you can't dismiss the possibility that he could be right for you—age aside. And I can you tell you this. I may not know when I'll be ready to try again, but when I do, I'm going to be willing to look in places I might not have looked before, because I don't want to risk missing something potentially amazing due to...social prohibitions."

"When did you get so philosophical?" Ella asked with a little laugh.

"When I watched my wife take her last breaths."

The answer was so unexpected and so quiet that Ella sat there unable to speak.

"Just don't be afraid to look...elsewhere," her brother told her. "If Chase doesn't work out, fine. But don't miss the opportunity to find out. Okay?"

Ella squeezed her brother's arm then said, "I'm trying to remind myself there isn't even a relationship here yet but...honestly? I haven't been the least bit interested in anyone since...."

Steve laughed because he knew the answer was 'shithead' then Ella finished her thought.

"But I'm actually excited about seeing Chase."

Her brother took his arm down then looked at Ella and wiggled his eyebrows.

"And by 'seeing' do you mean...seeing?"

Ella playfully slapped his arm then laughed. Her previous thought came to mind and she said, "I can think of worse things."

"He's a decent looking guy, right?"

"Decent looking? Are you freaking kidding me?" his sister replied in a way that made Steve laugh. "He's gorgeous!"

Ella hesitated then said, "Which is what really worries me."

"Ah. You think he might do what...shithead did?"

Ella laughed herself then explained.

"No. It's more that I can't understand why a guy like that would want to, you know...."

Steve did his eyebrows again then said, "See...you?"

He got another playful shove before Ella said, "I don't have...image issues. But I'm not that attractive."

Steve pulled a leg up on the couch, turned her way, then said, "Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder, sis. Chase may find you far more attractive than you're giving yourself credit for."

"Yeah, and maybe bullfrogs will sprout wings," she said with a hint of playful sarcasm.

"So where are you guys going? You know, when Chase...sees you."

This time, Ella shoved him all the way over, and suddenly they were 12 and 10 again as Steve grabbed a pillow and swatted her, causing her to find one and whack him with it as they laughed like they hadn't in decades.

When the pillow fight ended, Steve said, "Seriously. Any idea what you two are doing?"

"No. Chase said he'll call me."

Ella looked at Steve then told him how hard it was to be the girl and wait.

"It's 2020, El. And you have a phone, right?"

His sister sighed then told her brother, "I didn't say I don't want to be the girl. I only said it was hard."

"He'll call," her brother assured her.

"I hope so, and thanks for listening," Ella told him sincerely.

"Anytime."

"Just not too often, right?"

Steve laughed, stood up, then said that was correct before letting her know he was going to bed. She said 'goodnight' then got ready for bed herself, but sleep was still a long way off as her mind went back and forth about everything she and her brother had discussed as well as the way she felt.

But eventually, sleep came, and before she knew it, Chloe was standing next to her in her nightie. When Ella opened an eye her niece asked her if she was going to get up. Ella glanced at the clock and saw that it was 8:30, the latest she'd slept in years.

"I'll be up in a sec, okay?" she told Chloe who replied with an upbeat 'okay' before heading back to her room.

It was noon before Ella felt recovered from having 'lost most of the day' due to sleeping in, but she felt better by then and had things around the house back on track. But just when she felt caught up, she got a text from Chase, and her head started spinning again.

"Hi, Ella. I'm so sorry we didn't get a chance to talk last night. But I'm glad we at least got to say 'hi' and agree to get together again."

Ella was smiling and her heart was beating faster as she read those first words.