KING'S BAY PARK
"So I dunno, high school just sort
of sucked. When I got to college, it was like, whoa," Alex says, hands
buried in the pockets of his fleece jacket as the fallen leaves ruffle
and crumble beneath his feet.
Jason glances over at him as they
walk. "So what happened?"
Alex draws in a deep drag of the
crisp autumn air. "It's a long story. There was just a lot going on. You
know, first time away from home--first time away from my mom."
"Yeah, that's one of the things I
regret about the way I did college," Jason says. "I wonder how things would've
been different if I'd gone away."
"It changes everything. I mean ...
it just sorta opens up a new world to you."
For a moment, their conversation
gives way to the distant sounds of the world around them. The leaves continue
crackling underfoot, a faint wind whispers around them, and on the far
side of the patch of trees, afternoon traffic whizzes by.
"So go on," Jason encourages, trying
not to sound too pushy. He's here to listen for Alex's sake and he knows
that the conversation needs to go at a comfortable pace.
"There was a lot going on," Alex
repeats slowly. "Hey, you wanna sit down?" He nods at the swing set just
a few yards up ahead.
"Sure, yeah." Jason follows him over
to the familiar set of swings, where he has spent so many hours laughing
and talking with Courtney in the past.
"All right," Alex says once they
are settled, as though he knows that he has to share this eventually. "So
that first semester of college ... It was the first time I really had friends
I hung out with, and definitely the first time I partied."
"Did you get into trouble?"
"No." Alex pauses. "No, not trouble.
That was when I started drinking, but I was pretty good about it. I just
had fun. It was almost weird 'cuz I wasn't used to it. I wasn't used to
people wanting to spend time with me or always having stuff to do."
Jason uses his foot to give himself
a push and he begins rocking back and forth slowly. He looks over at Alex,
who has stopped midstream and is now looking swept away by the story that
he is attempting to tell. Jason can see the pain of that time in his friend's
face now, darkening the dimples and the bright blue eyes. He can only wonder
what happened then and wait for the rest ...
"So my roommate was this guy Seth,"
Alex finally continues. "We totally hit it off, right away. It was weird
for me 'cuz I'd never really had guy friends before, but we hung out all
the time."
Jason notices that Alex looks away
now, someplace off in the distance. "This one night after we went to a
party, we went back to our room, totally trashed ..."
The beginning of the tale lingers
in the chilly air. Jason waits patiently, absorbed in the story.
Too absorbed to hear the ruffling
coming up behind them.
"He was the one, Jay. The first one
I ever really let myself realize I was falling for. And I never told anyone
about him -- not until you. No one ever knew -- about me, at all -- besides
Seth ... until that night with you."
Unconsciously, Jason grips the swing's
chains a little bit harder.
"What we have, you and I, it's like
nothing I've ever had," Alex says. "You didn't rat me out to the girls,
but you tried to get me to reach that point on my own. It's been, like,
two years, and you're still here for me and dealing with this stuff. You're
awesome."
"Thanks," is the only response Jason
can muster. He's sure that Alex knows where he stands.
Suddenly the warm moment comes to
an abrupt halt. The sound of a throat clearing behind them is very audible
and it snaps them from their private world. With a start, Jason focuses
on Courtney's face. And in that first instant of looking at her, he knows
that something is very wrong.
END OF EPISODE #231
What is wrong between Courtney
and Jason? Do you want to hear more about Alex's time in college? What
could the relationship between Stan and Sally mean? And what happens now
that Diane has custody of Samantha?
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