Aligned (16 page)

Andi groans and steps back, motioning me into the room.

“Well come in then. I’m going to go get my glasses; have a seat.” She disappears into the bedroom and I go to the living room. I have too much nervous energy to sit down so I take to pacing the living room. She comes back in with her glasses on and her hair brushed. It looks nice down like that. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it down before. I must have been staring because she clears her throat.

“So you are all right? There hasn’t been an emergency?”

“I told you I’m fine. No emergency.”

She looks at me like I am crazy. “So you show up at my place banging on the door after 1:00am because…?”

“I can’t sleep and I need to talk to you.”

“All right, well come have a seat and we’ll talk then. Can I get you some water or tea or…”

“Do you like me?” I blurt out, not being able to wait to ask her any longer.

So many looks flash across her face. First shock, then worry, then embarrassment. So many expressions I can hardly name them all play out right before my eyes. It’s fascinating.

“Wesley Sanders, you come barging in here at two o’clock in the morning to ask me if I
like
you?” she says in utter disbelief.

“Yes. Do you?”

She sighs and sits down on the couch, then looks right at me. “Yes, I suppose I do, although I’m having a hard time remembering why at this moment.”

I’m not expecting that answer, especially not for her to be so direct.

“Oh.”

“Oh? That’s all you have to say is oh?”

“Well I’m not really sure what to say.”

“Then why did you come over here demanding to know?”

“Because I wanted to know. Natasha mentioned that you might like me and…”

Another groan interrupts me. “You talked to my uncle about this?”

This is the most reaction I’ve ever seen from her, and from the looks of it I’m in trouble.

“Yes?” I question more than state.

“Gah! Great, that’s all I need, as if this isn’t embarrassing enough as it is.”

“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to upset you. It was just that I didn’t understand what happened at lunch. Masters and Natasha came over and I asked what I did wrong, and Natasha said it sounded like I embarrassed you because you liked me and—”

“Enough, Wes, I understand. It’s fine, I’m not going to die from embarrassment or I’d already be dead by now.”

“Well, I’ll let you get back to sleep then.” I start to leave.

“Oh no, no you don’t! You opened this can of worms, you are going to come back and finish this.”

“Finish what? I got what I came for.”

“How nice for you. Now it’s my turn. Sit.”

I’ve never really seen her like this and am not sure what to do, so I sit.

“Now, I’d like to know how you feel about what I said, and it would be nice to know how you feel as well.”

Great,
feelings.
I should have known she would want to talk
feelings
now. I would much rather talk facts than feelings. She’s right though. I started this so I guess I better see it through.

“Well, I haven’t really had time to deduce how I feel at the moment, Andi. How about I tell you when I do?”

She stares at me and I’m not sure how to take that.

“Do you see me as a friend, Wes?”

“Of course I do.”

“Like you do Roz?”

That question throws me. Do I see her like Roz? Of course not. My relationship with Roz is much different and I can’t compare what I have with her to what I have with Andi. For one, I’ve known her longer, but something else is different too. I don’t think of Roz the way I think of Andi. I don’t notice the way she smells and want to know what she thinks of me like I do with Andi.

“No, not like Roz,” I say finally and she nods, thinking for a moment.

“Would you ever want to date Roz?”

“Absolutely not!”

“And me?” she whispers.

I look up at her and answer honestly. “I’m not sure…maybe.”

She smiles slightly. “Okay, that’s good enough for me. We both better get some sleep. You go home now and get some rest.” I turn to go.

“And Wes?”

I look back at her.

“When you’re sure, will you let me know?”

“Yes.”

“You’re going to make a pro and con list and figure out the data on relationships first, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am,” I say.

She chuckles. “I thought so. Good night, Wesley.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Despite only getting a few hours of sleep, I wake up before the alarm, as usual. I go through my morning rituals and then wait for my roommates at the bottom of the stairs. We all walk to the Ministry together and once Grace is dropped off at school, I fill them in on the happenings of the night before to try to get their input on the situation. Molly bursts out laughing so hard she looks like she is going to fall over. Dex stands there in shock for a moment and then shakes his head.

“What? Molly—why are you laughing? Did I do something wrong?”

After taking a moment to get the laughter under control and wipe the tears from her eyes she looks over at me. “You’re joking right? You didn’t seriously sabotage the poor girl in the middle of the night demanding to know her feelings for you?”

“I don’t think sabotage is the correct word, but the rest sounds about right.”

“Oh my dear, Wesley, you should thank your lucky stars if Andi wants anything to do with you after this. If she does, snatch her up quick and never let her get away. Oh man, I needed that laugh.”

I look over at Dex.

“Don’t look at me for advice on women. I’m the last person in the world who understands them.”

“Well, you are dating Roz aren’t you? You must have some insight.”

“Ha! Thanks for opening that wound. That’s my point exactly, though. Are we together? Are we not? I have no freaking clue. I don’t even know if I am in a relationship so I’m the last person who needs to be giving dating advice. Although for what it’s worth I do like Andi, I think she’s a great girl.”

We continue our walk in silence for the most part, although every now and then Molly bursts out laughing again and mumbles something about me or Andi.

Once we reach the Ministry we all go our separate ways. Even though Cole is there when I arrive, Natasha isn’t so I decide to wait until everyone gets here to do the official launch. With nothing but time on my hands I check my e-mail and see that Roz wrote me back.

Wes,

I’m sorry that I ruined your life but it can’t be that bad. Put the dramatics aside for a minute and tell me what happened…is this about a girl?

Roz

I write her back, filling her in on the events of last night. Right as I hit send Natasha walks into my office.

“Sorry, Wes. I know you wanted to launch first thing this morning but time got away from me. I’m here now and appreciate you waiting, so catch me up to speed before we do this.”

“Good morning, Natasha. It is quite all right. After talking to Cole we decided it would be best to fill everyone in at once so I’m going to call a meeting now that you are here.”

“Perfect.”

I buzz Chaz, telling him it’s go time, and he immediately comes to my office. By the time we gather everything we need and go to the main room everyone is there waiting for us.

“Good morning, all. Thank you for being here. Well, I mean, it’s not like you really have anywhere else to be since you work here, but thank you for taking time to listen to us, even though in actuality you should be thanking me since this is going to greatly increase your productivity and save you time on—”

Cole clears his throat pointedly.

“Right, sorry. I’ve been told I babble when I’m excited.” I start talking about the software design I came up with and eventually notice the confused looks on everyone’s faces.

Natasha stands up. “Wes, dear, to those of us who don’t speak geek, do you think you can show us what it does?”

“Oh, right, yes of course. Chaz?”

Chaz jumps up and hits a few buttons on the computer and instantly the large monitor comes to life.

“Natasha, pick one of the case workers at random for me.”

“How about Corey Roberts?”

I type in his name, and two other names pop up. “I see that Corey is following Elizabeth Sigmund, who is thirteen, and Bradley Wayne, who is three. Is this right, Corey?”

When he says “Yes,” I say, “Wonderful. Let’s start with Bradley first. As you will see, when I click on his folder several subfolders come up. These are the milestones. We have crawling, babbling, talking, eating, walking, and so on. Every time he does one of these it will automatically be recorded and go to the folder. If anything of consequence happens you will get an alert notice. For instance, if he doesn’t hit a milestone at the appropriate age you will be alerted, or if he hits it early you will also be notified.”

“Wow, that’s great!” Corey exclaimed.

“Moving on to Elizabeth.” Chaz taps the screen a few more times and her folder comes on screen.

“Since she is older her folder is going to be more complex. It’s broken down by journal entries, school assignments, friends, achievements, likes, dislikes, etc. There are many breakdowns, and just as many folders. Everything is sorted electronically from anything that is sent on a tablet or anything that is monitored. There is also a folder for her parents’ and teachers’ logs that is updated on any changes and progress.”

“That’s fantastic, Wes!” Natasha says with a bright smile on her face.

“You haven’t even seen the cool part yet,” I say, trying not to let my excitement get away from me again. “You can go into any folder at any time to monitor progress, however, the system is set up to alert you not only when anything of significance happens, but also if the person is flagged for president, council, or basically any important Ministry staff job. As a case worker you will be notified, but a copy of their file will automatically be sent to Cole’s computer. The same goes for you, Natasha. All people with disabilities have the same files that will be sent to you anytime one is flagged.”

“Very well done, Wes. I must say I am highly impressed. This should free up more workers and help them to take more cases without being overloaded,” Cole says, walking over to me and patting me on the back. I try not to push him off, but I can’t hide my flinch and the grimace I know is on my face. He awkwardly removes his hand and coughs.

“Thank you, sir. Chaz will remain in your department to oversee the program and to work out any problems that may arise, but I assure you, it has been tested and all kinks have been thoroughly worked out.”

“Also, I installed a filtration system that should help to narrow down jobs for you as well. I put in all the different types of jobs the country has to offer, and the description of the best qualities for the job position. The computer will send someone who fits those descriptions to those departments’ folders. This won’t eliminate your work, but it should help it immensely. Computers don’t have instinct that people have, so you can still trust your gut but I personally believe they don’t have has many flaws or errors either.”

Natasha clears her throat. “Yes, thank you, Wes. We’re looking forward to seeing how this plays out.”

Cole steps up and addresses the room. “This is going to help you out greatly. Use it as a tool, but only a tool. Don’t get lazy and rely solely on this system. I still want you doing the work; we are only trying to be a little less intrusive. We are going to give this a month and see how it works. If it doesn’t live up to our expectations we’ll be going back to the old way, so don’t get too comfortable.”

I scoff at his last remark. If my program doesn’t exceed his expectations, I will eat his hat myself. I don’t do mediocre work.

Cole tells everyone to go back to work, and Leon winks at me on his way out.

“Very well done, Wesley. We are impressed with the outcome.”

“I’m glad. Also, I set up a file for those overachievers like myself.”

“Oh, but you are one of a kind, Wes,” Natasha says with a smirk.

“Yes, well be that as it may, I have it set up to where if anyone has any formulas or designs, anything at all that could be useful to the Ministry, it will go straight to the department that will benefit from the information.”

“That’s excellent. Too bad poor Leon didn’t have that when you were on his case load.” With that, Cole saunters off to his office. I give the thumbs up to Chaz and he hits the launch button.

The launch goes off seamlessly and I am incredibly happy with the results. I instantly want to share my success with Rosaline…if only she wasn’t across the country. Oh well, she would probably make me dance like a trained monkey so I should count myself lucky.

Natasha and I go down to lunch together after everything calms down. It’s nice to have a bit of a buffer between Andi and myself since I’m not exactly sure where we stand. Andi must have had the same idea because when we get there she’s sitting at my table with Masters.

I go directly to the food line for a sandwich and an apple, then join them at the table.

“Hello,” I say, and then set about arranging my things on the table. Unwrapping my napkin, placing it just so in my lap, placing my settings exactly how I like them, and right as I am turning my plate 120 degrees three guys from the Department of Defense walk by. I see them out of the corner of my eye and stiffen, praying they’ll keep walking and leave me alone. Obviously I’m not going to be that lucky today; I can tell when they stop right next to me. One of the guys picks up my fork and flips it over, placing it outside my reach.

“Oops, look what I went and did. That doesn’t bother you, does it, Wesley?” he says with a hateful grin. His buddies start laughing and join in on the fun.

“Now hey there, Chris. I think his spoon is lonely now. We can’t have a lonely spoon can we, Wes?” He picks up my spoon and puts it on top of my fork.

I take a deep breath and try not to focus on the fact that my utensils are touching and not in their right places. This is what they want; they’re waiting for me to freak out. I silently put everything back where it belongs.

“What’s wrong, Wes, got nothing to say?” the first one asks me. I remain silent, knowing nothing I say will help right now. It doesn’t matter how old I am, or where I am, there will always be bullies, always be people who have to break me down to build themselves up. While I know it’s not personal, that doesn’t ever make it any better. This happened a few times before when Roz was on tour. Nobody would dare do it with her here, though now she is away again it looks like it’s open season.

The second guy finally gets impatient and starts pulling the other two toward the food.

“Come on, I’m hungry. He’s not even counting or swaying or anything.”

They finally leave and I start counting to myself, ticking off the numbers on my fingers. I forget everyone who is sitting at my table. I forget I’m a grown man and teasing isn’t supposed to get to me anymore. When I finally calm down I look up to see three faces staring at me in shock. Natasha’s mouth is hanging open. Masters’ face is masked and unreadable, but the vein in his neck is pulsing so I know he must be upset. It’s Andi’s face that shows the most concern. Her eyes are bulging and her mouth is open. She has her fists clenched and she is glaring at the backs of the men over my shoulder.

I pick up my sandwich and start eating.

“What just happened?” Natasha asks.

I shrug.

“Wesley, answer her! What was that?” Andi demands.

“What do you think it was? They were giving me a hard time; don’t worry about it.”

“Does this happen often, Wes?” Natasha asks. I shoot her a look that quickly shuts her up. She should know more than anyone how much this has happened to me on a daily basis my whole life.

“Aren’t you going to do something, Kevin?” Andi demands.

Masters shrugs. “What do you want me to do? He’s a grown man; he can fight his own battles.”

“Kevin!” Natasha admonishes. “They work for you; you can’t allow them to get away with treating people like that.”

“And what happens if I do handle it, Tash? I’ll tell you what happens—it will get ten times worse for him. So stay out of it.”

Natasha shoots daggers at Masters but remains silent.

Andi shocks me by slamming her fist on the table. All three of us jump in surprise.

“Stay out of it? Seriously, Kevin, I expect more than that from you! You can stay out of it, but I certainly will not!” she yells at him, standing so fast her chair is thrown to the ground. Before I even know what is happening she has rounded the table and walked across the room to where the three men are sitting.

She marches right over to the first man and comes at him so fast he has no clue what hit him…literally. All one hundred ten pounds of Andi slam into him so hard he flies backwards, right out of his chair. The man lies there stunned silent, staring up at her in disbelief.

“How does it feel, huh? To be minding your own business and get attacked out of nowhere? How dare you three? Didn’t your mothers teach you any manners whatsoever?” Andi, who rarely speaks over a whisper, is downright screaming at the whole table.

She glares at each of them. “You are grown men, for goodness sakes. Start acting like it. I better not hear of this happening any more or you’ll learn real quick about the Masters’s tempers. Now get out of here! Now!”