The First Love Of Alipang Havens

Professor Joe!
Lol, good deal of kissing and huggin between them but I'm getting used to Al and Chilena, lol. And yeah, that sounded just like Hannah would :p
But it's going good... i wonder what you have planned for this story. :D
 
The title of _this_ chapter was the title of the _last_ chapter; but then I noticed there was so much happening on Saturday that I wasn't getting anywhere near Labor Day. So I adjusted accordingly, with a different title for what has just gone by.

PART TWELVE: LABOR DAY'S LOVE LOST
(in-joke for Shakespeare fans)

In the morning, while Alipang was dreaming that Chilena was Wile E. Coyote trying in vain to blow up Kim as the Road Runner, the actual Chilena got up to check her e-mail. There was a message from Mike!

Dear Lizzy (that's how I remember you),

Mom and Dad were almost completely telling you the truth. Just a couple of discrepancies. Your local nursing home isn't part of the chain Mom got a job with, there's just an offer to buy it. They looked at an apartment in Smoky Lake, but haven't signed a lease yet. Probably waiting to know if you can stand the sight of them. I think you handled yourself very well yesterday, and I could tell that Alipang was helping you.

My older brothers have wives, as you were told. But the reason why Alex is up in Massachussets is because he can't stand being around Mom and Dad anymore. No abuse or crime, but just too much foolishness and unpredictability. Eccentric behavior seems to be common in a commission-sales career. Speaking of crime, the check they wrote to your parents was real, not rubber--except you'll have to wait until Wednesday for the money to be in the bank to cover it.

I have a girlfriend, named Ursula. She dances; dreams of being in a production of "Riverdance." I hope you'll meet her someday. Dustin and Nikki are cute the same way your Chinese sisters are. Maybe you actually will get to babysit them sometime, depending on our chaotic circumstances. I'm grateful that you were as warm to me as you were. Oh, and please don't be angry at Mrs. Capshaw; she didn't like hiding from your family the fact that she was passing news about your life to my folks, but Mom and Dad did her a good turn once and she felt indebted. She never said anything bad to us about your adoptive family.

Love, kind of interrupted,
MIKE

Since about half of Chilena's brain had been assuming her birth parents to have lied about _everything,_ this indication even of _general_ honesty had a cheering-up effect on her. She forwarded it to the e-mail addresses for her parents and Alipang; then she went upstairs to share her improved mood with Alipang in person. Some kissing was involved.
 
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The Havens family didn't always make it to Redemption Free Church in time for Sunday school sessions preceding worship. This time, however, they did, going to three different places by age group: Mom and Dad to Harry Richardson's adult class in the sanctuary itself, Alipang and Chilena to the middle-school-through-college-age class downstairs, and Melody and Harmony to the nursery.

Sitting on Alipang's lap in Sunday school would have been untoward; but Chilena did contrive to be holding her brother's hand for much of the time. Both siblings found it ironic that the Prodigal Son parable was discussed; Alipang left it to Chilena to share with everyone how her prodigal _parents_ had turned up.

When the class was over, everyone poured out of the classroom for the mingling time before worship--except Chilena and Alipang, she asking him to linger. Out of sight of the glass panel in the door, she flowed into his embrace and whispered in Tagalog, "If _she's_ here today, please at least don't _throw_ yourself at her like a nutcase! I mean, don't leave us to sit with Kim. Don't...don't leave ME."

Enfolding her still more closely in his arms, Alipang whispered back, "Of course I'll be sitting with you, sweets. You seem to think that I think that apologizing nicely to me _does_ make Kim my girfriend; but I know it doesn't. Please try to act natural; you did it so well with your birth parents, you can do it with the Tisdales too. As a matter of fact, if you can bring yourself to _speak_ with Kim, it might help me do something I want to do: talk privately for a minute with Kim's mother."

When they went upstairs...there were the Tisdales, three of them anyway, the eldest daughters having somewhere else to be. Alipang, naturally, had eyes only for Kim, who wore a high-necked, knee-length blue-gray dress. No combat boots. Chilena, sighting the enemy, clutched at her brother's arm as if she thought Kim planned to kidnap him on the spot. But upon approaching them, Kim startled both siblings by addressing Chilena first, and very meekly:

"Chilena...I deserved everything you said to me in that phone call. I'm very sorry that I was unfair to Alipang. Your brother has already forgiven me; I hope you can, too."

Kim, Alipang, and family members of both including Chilena herself, were astonished when Chilena released her brother's arm and hugged Kim.
 
Chilena, at the moment she threw her arms around Kim, had not been thinking about Alipang's desire to speak with Mrs. Tisdale, only following an impulse of generosity; but as Kim shyly hugged her back, she remembered the other matter--and shoved her right foot against Al's left one to get him moving. Not at once letting go the hug, she turned Kim with her toward Kim's next-older sister. "Kim, I don't think I was ever properly introduced to--Belinda, is it?"

"Baeline," said Kim's lighter-haired sister; "but I prefer Betsy."

"Yeah, she leaves all the weirdness to me," said Kim.


Once Alipang realized he had his opening, he darted to the side of Elizabeth Tisdale. "Excuse me, ma'am, could I talk with you--just a little bit off to the side?"

Not having been born yesterday, Elizabeth took in the fact that Al kept shooting glances over his shoulder at Kim, and that Al's devoted sister was keeping Kim occupied in conversation. She went with the agitated boy several paces away from the crowd, then gave him an encouraging smile that reminded Al of Kim's smile. "What can I do for you, young man?"

"Have to say it quick. I'm sure you know how often people _take_ advantage of _having_ some advantage over other people. I believe Kim really meant it when she apologized to me yesterday--"

"Yes, I know what had happened between Kimmy and you; and yes, she did mean it when she said she was sorry."

Al nodded. "Anyway, it came to my mind later that maybe she was afraid _not_ to apologize to me, because she knows I was the one who got her the waitressing job. I'm not calling her a suck-up, honest; but anyone might feel a need to stay on the good side of someone who provided them with something and might be able to take it away again if offended. That led me on to think about--" He looked back at Kim, who was talking now with Shavonda the worship leader.

"Mrs. Tisdale, I have to get to the point. Your daughter Kim is the most, the _very_ most beautiful girl I ever saw anyplace, and I've had some glimpses of her having good things _inside_ her, too. She doesn't know this, or doesn't admit to knowing it, but I...I'm...well...the phrase 'in love' is too much to use on just one week's acquaintance, but I'm as close to it as one week can manage. I'm crazy about her; I think about her all the time. Which leads back to the advantage thing. If Kim ever _does_ catch on to how I feel...I _don't_ want her to worry for an instant that I would even _think_ of trying to play on her gratitude for anything I ever did for her, to try to get her, uh, get her to--go out with me. I know she's out of my league, if only by age difference. I want _you_ to know I'll never knowingly make her uncomfortable; but please don't tell her I said this to you, unless you see a really important reason to tell her."

This time it was Elizabeth who checked that Kim wasn't looking at her and Al; then she gave the boy a much bigger smile. "I won't tell Kim how you feel...but Al, I think _you_ should tell her. She likes you more than you think she does--maybe more than she herself yet realizes she does. Now, don't tell her _today;_ give her more time to know you better. But I believe a time will come when you _can_ ask her out, and she'll say yes. I assume your parents know all about this; I'll see if I can talk with them before we go home. If Kim were your girlfriend, I'd be _happy_ to see her with the most decent, innocent boy who ever took notice of her."

Elizabeth came away from this encounter mentally high-fiving herself for having correctly interpreted Al's reaction to Kim last Sunday. She would have to avoid making Kim feel manipulated--the expression "herding cats" came to mind--but there must be some way that she and Al's parents could facilitate the chances of Kim getting together with a boy who was obviously in the top five percent of his gender mentally and morally.
 
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Pastor Stetzer's sermon, tailored to Labor Day weekend, was anchored on Proverbs 18:9: "He who is slack in his work is brother to him who destroys." He pointed out that integrity in any form of work did NOT at all come under the overused charge of "trying to earn salvation by works." Rather, doing one's job faithfully should be seen as an act of Christian love, based on the desire to bring a benefit to others. He embarrassed Eric Havens by citing the dentist as a positive example in this area.

As promised, Alipang sat with Chilena, not with Kim--though he did more than once turn to look at Kim, who thrilled him with a smile each time she noticed him looking. Alipang's right hand and Chilena's left were firmly clasped together for most of the service, whether sitting or standing; and during the offertory, he whispered to her in Tagalog, "You did a great job distracting her. I said my piece to her Mom, and her Mom was more favorable to me than I'd expected."

"Anything for you," Chilena whispered back. "But my hugging her wasn't fake; I decided she really _was_ sorry for insulting you."

When the service ended, Elizabeth Tisdale contrived to speak with Dr. and Mrs. Havens out of her daughters' hearing. "Eric--Cecilia--your son is a truly likeable boy. Al made a certain confession to me earlier, in the most courtly and gentlemanly way I ever heard from a boy of his generation. He does credit to his homeschool upbringing. I want you to know that, if there's any way it _can_ work for him to have his wish with my Kimmy, I'm for it, because I know that Al's wishes are honorable."

This led to some inter-parental scheming...which narrowed down to the two families going on a day trip next weekend to Assateague Island, with its protected wild ponies. Elizabeth knew of the place; but living most of her life in Georgia, she had never seen it. She knew that Kim would love to see those ponies...and of course, it would mean Kim and Al spending time together without being put on the spot about it being "a date."
 
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Kim took her leave of Alipang far more warmly than her casual goodbye wave when she had left the Pansit Paradise a week ago. "I'll pray for you to get well fast, Al. And I _won't_ resign it all to karma; I'm getting my spiritual guidance from the gospel of Christ from now on, not from the Upanishads. Only...am I allowed to say this in a church? I do still think I get a spiritual benefit from listening to songs by Tori Amos. Have you ever listened to Tori Amos?"

"I saw videos by her on TV a couple of times; but I had no idea what she was talking about in the songs."

Kim smiled, and there was no mockery in it. "Don't feel bad, Al; _most_ people don't understand Tori."

"Well, she does have a beautiful voice," Alipang conceded. "And she's terrific to look at....ALMOST as attractive as you are."

Kim blushed, as she had yesterday when complimented by this intelligent yet open-hearted boy. "If I didn't know you're an honest b-- an honest young man, I wouldn't believe you could mean that. But thanks. I hope you'll still be saying such nice things when you and I are finally working _together_ at the restaurant."

"If I don't have time to _say_ nice things to you about you, I promise you I'll be _thinking_ them."

==========================

Alipang was walking on air even while sitting in a driver's seat. Chilena was letting him drive her car on his learner's permit, with herself as licensed driver present. As he practiced maneuvers from street to street, not making a beeline for home, his sister said, "Just _how_ favorable was Kim's Mom to you?"

"Well, since we're not living in the days of arranged marriages, I couldn't start bargaining with her simply to _give_ Kim to me; but for an era of liberation and free will, she was very encouraging to me. She said that Kim likes me already. No doubt that's only the 'nice-person-BUT' way of liking me; but even so, I feel kind of affirmed, vindicated, just by knowing that Mrs. Tisdale thinks I'm worthy of Kim."

Chilena looked away from him and murmured, "I _always_ knew you were worthy of Kim, OR Summer, or ANY girl. The only question is what girl is worthy of you."

Alipang glanced at her, and then found an uncrowded place to park the car. Switching off the ignition and unbuckling his seatbelt, he reached over to unfasten Chilena's seatbelt as well. Reading his intention correctly, Chilena smiled wistfully and had her arms around him even before he got his around her....
 
After lunch, Alipang kept Melody and Harmony amused while Mom and Dad reviewed with Chilena their thoughts about the Jakekens. This done, Mom exchanged a glance with Dad...and then told her eldest child...about her newest child in progress.

With what some call a "SQUEEE," Chilena hugged her mother's neck. "How far along?"

"Almost two months now. Soon, we'll ask you to take over with Melody and Harmony so we can tell your brother. But I wanted you to hear first; and this is being told weeks earlier than it might have been, if your birth parents' visit hadn't worried us about _your_ feelings."

"What do you mean, Mom?"

Alipang was not the only possible platform for lap-sitting; Cecilia Havens' lap was still strong enough to accommodate her daughter. "Darling, you can't expect your Dad and me not to notice that you can be very insecure and clingy with the people you love. Believe me, we never get tired of you loving us! Having your love is a priceless privilege--but it worries us that you keep on being afraid of abandonment and rejection. You should _know_ that your Dad and I and Alipang will all go right on loving you as long as there's breath in our bodies, and afterward besides. But now I'm afraid that sometime, the little nagging voice of UN-reason is going to say to you that once we have a natural-born baby--God granting it--you and your siblings whom we already have, won't matter as much to us anymore."

Eric Havens leaned in to kiss the top of Chilena's golden head. "And the feeling might be worse for you because of a feeling that your birth parents adopting those other children is like adding insult to injury."

Chilena took one arm from around her mother's neck, to snare her father's neck and deliver a kiss to his clean-shaven cheek. "Oh Dad, I love you and Mom so much! I love you enough that I could be twins and still have both of me loving you to the Moon and back. I _want_ you to have a child straight out of your love for each other! And I swear I'll never be jealous."

Neither parent made any mention of their observation that Chilena could be impatient with her Chinese sisters because she was jealous of the time Alipang spent giving them his love and attention.

Soon Alipang had his turn hearing Mom's hopeful news. He solemnly promised both to pray most urgently for a successful childbirth, and to do his best to make sure Chilena never felt forgotten.

When his parental meeting was over, Alipang collected Chilena, and their school materials, and climbed with her and them into the treehouse.
 
Investing half an hour in serious homework-doing produced good results for both siblings. Then the books were set aside, and the embracing commenced.

"Al, you heard that Mom's expecting. I'll be praying hard for that new baby; God punish me if I ever let myself be jealous of it! But...do you think, maybe, that the reason why Mom said so much to me about her and Dad NOT loving the rest of us less...was because they realize in their hearts that they _might_ start loving us just a bit less once they have a baby who's all their own?"

Alipang rocked her in his arms for a moment before answering. "We're all human, sweets, so we all have human nature. Our human nature can toss feelings at us that we didn't plan to have, or which go farther than we meant them to go. God knows, you and I should understand that if _anyone_ does."

Knowing what he meant, Chilena drew away from him--not very far, and not for long, but enough to amount to an acknowledgement. Before surging back into fresh snuggling, she stared into space and remarked, "Maybe God is letting Mom have a new baby now, _because_ you and I are so close to growing up and moving out. When we have our own homes and marriages, we won't mind Mom and Dad having the chance to do everything over again. And with prayer, hopefully Melody and Harmony won't feel unwanted."

It was as they slid into each other's arms again that Alipang said, "Sweets, do you notice you're not calling Melody and Harmony 'the babies' anymore?"

Chilena smiled; they kissed; and then she replied, "Because now I _can't_ call them that anymore."

Alipang and Chilena were not out of each other's arms again for the rest of that visit to the treehouse. As they held each other and intermittently kissed, they suggested possible baby names for their new sibling; and Alipang rehearsed for her the speech he planned to give at tomorrow's Escrima presentation.
 
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NOTE: Passage from Henry the Fifth as remembered by Copperfox without looking it up.


Master Pitik and his wife Dolores were supper guests that evening, making Alipang the center of attention as he rehearsed his Escrima speech. It began:

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Alipang, and I'm a student with Pitik Imada's Practical Escrima School; it's only coincidence that this abbreviates as P.I.P.E.S.--"

Pitik suddenly laughed. "Why, so it does! I never thought of that myself; but you'd better leave it out, Al. Some of your listeners may be slow on the uptake, and miss your important points because they're trying to figure out the acronym."

Alipang suppressed his disappointment. "Then I'll open with the Shakespeare part."

"The what?"

"Listen, Teacher. For much of the public, martial arts are associated with occult powers and mystical magic. This can cause people either to be afraid of these arts, or to become interested out of bad motives. But Escrima is no more occult than Western boxing; it is a practical, usable system of armed and unarmed combat, providing a self-defense option for persons of all ages. Master Pitik, while exposing us to Filipino tradition, teaches us to defend ourselves in the here and now. As King Henry the Fifth says in Shakespeare's play by that name, 'We are but warriors for the working day.' "

"Now, _that_ I like," said Pitik. "Cecilia, was it you who taught him Shakespeare?"

"Mostly. But while I still had him and Chilena at home full-time, the homeschooling association encouraged all the kids to study classics. One time they had a recitation contest, and Alipang earned third place with a speech from the same play you just heard him quoting."

"Really?" Dolores reacted. "Al, could you recall a bit of that?"

The boy grinned bashfully. "I think so, ma'am, or close. This story shall the goodman tell his son; / And Crispin Crispian shall not return / From now until the ending of the world, / But we in it shall be remember-ed: / We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; / For he who sheds his blood with me this day / Shall be my brother! Were he ne'er so base, / This day shall gentle his condition; / And men who now in England lie abed / Shall think themselves accursed they were not here, / And hold their manhood cheap while any speaks / Who fought with us here on Saint Crispin's Day!"

"As long as we've got you, Al," Pitik applauded, "No one will be able to say that martial artists are illiterate jocks! Of course...we'll _have_ more of you if you can manage _not_ to get injured again." But when he saw how his words lowered the boy's head and his spirits, the instructor was quick to add, "Don't feel bad, Al; I know that the reason for your hospitalization is to your credit. You thought that your friend the Ashford boy was in danger and only you could save him."

"You have a good heart, Al," chimed in Dolores.

"I've never met a better heart," agreed Alipang's father.
 
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That night's downstairs meeting held a surprise for Alipang. The surprise was not in any physical action; in that respect, the meeting was running in the most typical ritual fashion--initial hug, initial kiss, Alipang sitting on the sofa, Chilena perching on his lap, relaxed hugging followed by closer hugging, Chilena's head on her brother's shoulder. All routine for two mutually loving persons who were doing it for familiar emotional comfort, not for thrilling novelty. But then, from her head-on-shoulder position, Chilena said something unexpected, her lips brushing the side of Alipang's neck as she said:

"Al, were you expecting to go back to work at the Pansit after Labor Day? Because if you were planning to, you'll just be started again when you have to ask for Saturday off to go to Assateague Island. And Kim will have to ask for it off, too, if her family's going with us. Uncle Rafael is generous about things like that; but he'll need _somebody_ to stay and work besides Maria. So...what if * I * go back in to wait tables on Saturday, so the Pansit won't be hurt by you and Kim both going to the coast?"

Alipang lifted her head up from his shoulder...let her see him staring into her eyes with a look of amazement...drew her face to his and kissed her deliberately...then put her head back on his shoulder, enclosing her more firmly in his embrace. "Would you do that for me, sweets? Missing out on--? You know, I think this will be only the fourth time I've _ever_ been in sight of the Atlantic Ocean!"

Chilena wriggled herself into an overall closer-packed snuggle with him. "Yes, Al, I'll do it for you, just for you. If Kim is what you want, I'll try to help you have what you want. I want you to be happy. I love you, Al, I love you forever."

"And I love you, Chil. I _wasn't_ expecting to resume waiting tables that soon, because of doctor's orders against lifting things; but making that offer--! You're SO good to me, sweets!"

They hugged and squeezed and hugged and squeezed each other, mixed with more loving words. Minutes later, Alipang added, "Uncle Rafael's smart enough to handle staffing. He might get Jennifer to help on Saturday. On the other hand--is Dan getting better?"

"Got a text message from him less than two hours ago; he _thinks_ he'll be strong enough to come out to the city picnic tomorrow."

"Then I have a counter-offer: Dan will surely be well by next Saturday, so why don't you show him some attention? I mean, if he wants to come with us to Assateague, he's welcome, but he might want to stay closer to home and do something just with..." Alipang stopped with his sentence unfinished; his body was reporting to him a stiffening of Chilena's closely-pressed body. "What's wrong, sweets?"

She huffed several times, and leaned back from him--still counting on his arms around her waist to keep her from falling onto the floor, but withdrawing her arms from his neck far enough to plant her hands on his shoulders.

"I was ready to _sacrifice_ the Barrier Islands trip to help you; I wasn't ready for you to talk like I wouldn't _wish_ to go there with you...or...or...Oh, Al, do you _want_ me to stay behind? Do you _want_ me to...to get out of the way?" Just like that, her voice sounded a millimeter away from tears.
 
"How can you think that?" whispered Alipang. When she didn't answer, he began, very gently, to exert force to pull her back to himself. For a moment, she resisted; even with his injury, she had no chance against him in any contest of strength, but she knew he would never apply force that might hurt her. Then, as he softly tugged at her, his voice tugged more compellingly: "You know I never _want_ to be apart from you without a good reason; since we came to America, you and I never _have_ been apart for any great length of time. Things with Kim are _miles_ away from her and me being alone together. You being there wouldn't 'spoil' anything. So don't borrow rejection that hasn't happened......I love you, Chil, I love you as much as I ever did. Unless it suits YOU to skip the outing, I _want_ you along on Saturday as much as ever...and right now, I want you hugging me again."

She almost knocked him over then, as her counterpull abruptly reversed into throwing herself onto him, to hug and be hugged, kiss and be kissed. Not many words were spoken for the remainder of the meeting, other than variations on "I love you."

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Labor Day dawned over Smoky Lake. But before the sky was brighter than a tentative gray, the participants in last night's downstairs meeting were having a condensed re-enactment of it on the sofa. Since last night's meeting had begun earlier and ended much sooner than some, Alipang and Chilena had slept their fill, arisen well before the others, and agreed on a post-meeting meeting before breakfast.

"The meeting will come to order," whispered Chilena, kissing her brother's forehead as she reoccupied his lap.

Alipang kissed her cheek in reply. "Do I get to _order_ breakfast?"

"Not if you wanted to eat that Conrad girl's boa constrictor," said Chilena, her arms doing their own constricting around his muscular neck. "She'll need it for her presentation."

Alipang's right hand stroked her spine up and down. "Something like ham and eggs will do. Or even toast with peanut butter. When will the kitchen be open and serving?"

"Not before this meeting takes up the business of wishing you success with your Escrima speech. Good luck, Mr. Havens;" and she kissed his nose.

"Thank you, Miss Havens;" and he kissed her chin. Then they split the difference, lightly but with feeling. A generous amount of plain hugging ensued, before they adjourned to see about breakfast.
 
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Just as, on his first morning as an East High student, Alipang had scouted the schoolyard (and thereby been on hand to rescue Sammy Ashford from robbery), now he felt a strong wish to survey Lakeshore Park before the Labor Day festivities commenced. Chilena called Dan's house, to be told by Dan's mother that she was letting Dan sleep in as long as possible, and he might be up to joining her for the later hours of the city picnic; so she was free to drive her brother out to the lake sooner than Mom and Dad cared to bring Melody and Harmony. Chilena loaded her skateboard and gear into her trunk, dropped a couple of water bottles in the back seat, and hit the road with Alipang.

Arriving not long after the park was open to the public meant they got a good parking space. Chilena locked the car, donned her helmet and pads, mounted her skateboard, and embarked on a paved path. She was just warming up for now; not having ridden her board since before school had started, and having been sick in recent days, she wanted to get a feel for how much ability she had regained before she challenged the ramps. For the present, she gauged her speed by how fast her brother could move at a fast walk. Only in an emergency would Alipang jolt his ribcage by running, but he could walk at a surprisingly rapid pace.

Before going far, the siblings were overtaken by two joggers: girls whom they had seen at school, two of the handful of international students at East this year. The taller and blonder of these was Alina Stensgard, from Sweden; the shorter but more outgoing of them was Mandy Durham from the United Kingdom.

"Alipang? Chilena?" Mandy called. "Is that you?" Her question was adequately answered by the siblings turning around to look at her. "Alipang, we heard you were hospitalized; are you all right now?"

"Hi, Mandy. Hi, Alina. I'm still recuperating, but as long as my ribcage stays bound up, I can get around almost normally. Thank you for asking."

Chilena addressed the Swedish girl: "Did Jack Torinburg ever quit bothering you?" Jack Torinburg was this fall's new football captain at East; and his holding that position seemed to be the only topic he was capable of talking about, especially to girls, and most especially to Alina.

"He finally found someone who commanded his attention even more than I did," laughed Alina. "It was Coach Escobar, threatening to kick him off the team if he didn't quit pestering girls who weren't interested."

"Some of us," Mandy told Chilena, "may get together later today to play some of the other kind of football, on the soccer field. If you decide you're fit for it--" (Mandy did not say this in malice) "--join us around ten;" and soon Mandy and Alina had accelerated and receded in the distance.

Alipang and Chilena cruised on, watching the setup of concession booths and games being completed. Presently they were joined by their family's friend Wilson Kramer and his son Quinn.
 
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Mr. Kramer was clad in his sheriff's deputy uniform, complete with baton, Mace and sidearm--though it was well known around town that he was capable of doing more damage even without these weapons, than most men could do with them. "Great to see you, Mr. Kramer," said Chilena, and Alipang was quick to add "You too, Quinn." To this day, when encountering the younger boy, Alipang made a point of demonstrating that he bore no ill-will to Quinn for having quit Escrima.

To Chilena, Mr. Kramer said, "Good to see you in safety gear." Then to Alipang: "Al, would you happen to know whose idea it was to call me Deputy Dawg? I'm familiar with the cartoon character, and every kid who says it to me seems to mean it only in a friendly way; but I'm just curious. The Sheriff said he wanted me on duty here today because I seem to get on well with teens; but I can't help wondering if there's hidden resentment of me for--you know, for my _not_ pampering that young snot Larry Mannering when I found him strangling Summer Heron."

"Even out of the SEALS, Dad still has to worry about rules of engagement," Quinn interjected. Both his father and Alipang gave him acknowledging nods before continuing.

Alipang did not need to repeat his own gratitude to Kramer for saving his friend. "All I can tell you of the general picture, sir, is that I never hear _anyone_ speak about you in any way but favorably. Of course, that _could_ be because they know I won't tolerate a word against you. But I can answer you specifically about the Deputy Dawg nickname. It was Callie Shore who first came up with it: the girl you rescued on Tuesday."

Kramer doffed his Smokey Bear hat to do a facepalm just like any highschool kid. "Of course--the DOG! That's just as if I were some ancient warrior, and got the nickname Rottweilersbane."

"You see, sir, you do get on well with teens," Chilena assured him. "In fact, judging by the way I heard Callie talking about you at school on Wednesday before I got sick..." (Chilena lowered her voice conspiratorially) "...I'd say she has a big-time crush on you."

Something tightened up in Kramer's face. "I need to ask you _never_ to speak of that anymore, Chil. There are certain barriers that romantic attraction simply is not _allowed_ to cross over. Even if both parties have nothing but kind and loving intentions toward each other, society will _assume_ the very worst about them."

Alipang's face was expressionless. "Yeah, I can understand that."
 
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