Chapter 32: A Strike

Swallowing, Ted turned to look at the man standing behind him. Then he looked up to see the man’s face. This was the largest man he had ever seen in his life. With a weak smile, he said, “Hello, Sir.”

The man looked down at Ted and asked, “Who are you?”

“I’m Ted Brown and this is my friend Harry Anders,” Ted answered with a slight quiver in his voice. Seeing the large man frown, he added, “We’re in the class here, with your daughter.”

That the two boys were in the martial arts class with his daughter was obvious by their uniforms. Studying the small kid in front of him, the man didn’t know what to think. His family had only been in town two weeks and the boys were already chasing his daughter.

He shook his head and asked, “So what were you talking about?”

Harry answered, “We were inviting her to go bowling with us.”

“Just the two of you and her?”

“Daddy!” Amy said embarrassed by the grilling her father was giving the two boys. She glanced over at Ted thinking that he was kind of cute. She hoped that her father wouldn’t scare him away.

The man looked at his daughter and frowned. In a voice that wouldn’t accept argument, he said, “Let me talk to these boys, Pumpkin.”

“My girlfriend will be coming with us,” Harry answered without missing a beat.

“And where is this mystery girlfriend?” the man asked looking around and only seeing the three teenagers. All of the other students had left the dojo.

“She’s babysitting, tonight. That’s why Ted and I came down here,” Harry answered.

“Bowling, you say?” He figured that the bowling alley was probably a major hangout for the teenagers in the area and that there would be drugs.

“Yes, Sir,” Ted answered.

He was thinking that he didn’t know anything about bowling, but that didn’t matter. He glanced over at Amy thinking that he’d walk through fire for a chance to date her. Of course, talking with her father seemed to be a lot harder than walking through fire.

Pointing behind Amy’s father, Harry said, “The bowling alley is right across the street. I would be willing to pick Amy up, but I have to warn you that I’ve only had my driver’s license for a little over a month.”

“A little over a month,” the man repeated in a less than complimentary tone of voice while turning his attention to Harry. He wondered why the boy had mentioned his lack of experience driving.

“Yes, Sir. I would understand if you didn’t want her to ride with us.”

“You would understand if I didn’t want her to ride with you,” the man repeated while studying Harry carefully. His impression of the two boys was improving, but they still had a long way to go before it reached an acceptable level.

“My father says that novice drivers are more likely to have an accident, and that parents may not want their children to ride with me until they trust my driving skills,” Harry said with a shrug of his shoulders.

“You’re right. I don’t trust you to drive my daughter.”

Ted was tired of spending all of his time alone. He glanced at Amy and knew that he wanted to get to know her better. For once he was going to go after what he wanted. Having decided to go for broke, he looked Amy’s father in the eye and said, “Perhaps you would like to join us.”

Harry and Amy both turned to look at Ted as if he were out of his mind. Considering that Harry was terrified of Jack, he wondered how Ted had the nerve to make that suggestion. The last thing that Amy wanted was to have her father along on a date. Of course, it wouldn’t be a real date according to Harry.

Amy’s father laughed at the expression on his daughter’s face. Looking back down at Ted, he asked, “You’d take me along with you?”

“Yes, Sir. Harry suggested that you didn’t know how well he drove and couldn’t trust him to pick up Amy. I realized that you didn’t know either of us enough to trust us to be with your daughter. Well, I’m willing to put up with you for a night, so that you can get to know me, because I plan to ask Amy out. I’m talking about a real date; including dinner, movie, and a goodnight kiss at the door,” Ted said.

Amy looked over at Ted amazed that any boy dared talk to her father like that. Her father looked down at Ted and laughed at the intense expression on his face. He appreciated the wording that Ted had used in saying that he would put up with him.

Still chuckling, he said, “You’re a feisty little fellow, aren’t you?”

“Yes, Sir,” Ted answered wondering where the words he had spoken earlier had come from. He glanced over at Amy and smiled. He realized that he had just stepped in the fire pit for his walk through fire. He just hoped that it would lead to a chance to date her. He squared his shoulders and said, “I intend to ask your daughter out on a real date.”

Looking over at his friend with admiration, Harry said, “Way to go, Ted.”

“You don’t even know if she’ll say yes,” her father said amazed at the spunk the little guy was showing him. Every other boy interested in Amy folded when facing him. His 6’4” height and 225 pounds tended to make the boys more than a little nervous.

“I will,” Amy said impulsively.

Overjoyed at her statement, Ted’s heart raced. His excitement was short-lived and came to a complete halt when her father said, “Hold on, Pumpkin. I’ve got to make sure that he’s not the type that will rape you.”

Eyes flashing and hands clenched, Ted stepped forward and, in a low growl, said, “I’d never do that.”

Harry had never seen Ted so angry. Afraid that Ted would say something that he would later regret, Harry stepped forward and grabbed the arm of Amy’s father.

In a low voice, he said, “I need to tell you something.”

The big man stared at Ted wondering what had caused the sudden change in the kid’s demeanor. It seemed to him like there was only one explanation and he didn’t like what it suggested. He suspected that the kid had been accused of rape and odds were good that he had actually committed it. He was ready to grab Amy and take her away from there until he caught the expression on Harry’s face.

He asked, “What do you need to tell me?”

“I need to tell you in private,” Harry said glancing over at Ted. Ted was still staring at Amy’s father with anger written on his face. It was obvious that Ted was about to lose control.

Deciding that there was no way he was going to let Ted go out with his daughter, he took Harry by the arm and led him a few steps away. Bending down, he said, “Tell me why I shouldn’t just twist him like a pretzel.”

Harry glanced over at Ted and hoped that his friend would forgive him. It wasn’t that the attack was a secret; it was just something that Ted never talked about.

In a soft voice, he said, “Ted was attacked by a serial killer. The guy was trying to rape him. There’s no way Ted would do that to someone else.”

“Oh,” Amy’s father said looking over at Ted. He knew all about the serial killer being captured in the next town to where he lived. Frowning, he said, “That was just a couple of months ago.”

“That’s right,” Harry said although to him there were times when it seemed just like yesterday. Looking directly at Amy’s father, he said, “Look, Ted’s a good guy. He’s really smart. I mean, he’s way smarter than I am. Because of that, he gets picked on at school. He doesn’t hate the bullies. He tolerates it because he’s a nice guy.”

Amy’s father turned to look at Ted considering what the boy had been through. The young man had calmed down a little. Walking back to him, he said, “When is this bowling adventure going to take place?”

“We haven’t decided yet. We were just beginning to discuss it,” Ted answered trying to get a handle on his anger.

Harry said, “I’m working Friday, and my girlfriend is babysitting this Saturday. We’re both free on Thursday. Is that good for you, Ted?”

“That’s fine with me,” Ted answered. He looked over at Amy hoping that it would be a good night for her. Getting lost in Amy’s eyes calmed him down.

Amy smiled and said, “Thursday is good for me.”

Her father took a deep breath and looked across the room trying to make up his mind. He asked, “What time?”

“Seven?” Harry suggested.

“We’ll be at the bowling alley at seven on Thursday,” her father said.

He looked over at his daughter and saw the excitement on her face. There was a tinge of disappointment in her expression that her father was going to be there, but at least she was getting out of the house and going on her first unofficial date.

“Excellent,” Ted said with a smile.

Amy looked over at Ted and said, “I’ll see you Thursday.”

“I’ll see you Thursday,” Ted replied. He found that he was getting lost in her eyes again.

After a minute of the two teenagers looking at each other like love sick puppies, her father pulled her away. Ted watched as they went to the car and drove off. Shaking his head, he turned to Harry and asked, “Have you ever seen anyone that pretty?”

“Yes. I’m dating her,” Harry said with a nudge from his elbow. He said, “By the way, you didn’t get her telephone number.”

“I don’t even know her last name,” Ted said. He laughed and said, “I know what I want it to be.”

“What?”

“Brown,” Ted said.

Ted arrived home and found that the note he had left on the table had not been moved. He crumpled it up and threw it in the trash can. He headed to his bedroom ready to shower and go to bed. It had been a very strange day.