Date: Tue, 17 Sep 1996 17:30:37 -0600 (MDT) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: The Impossible Dream - Chapter 1 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII The usual copyright issues in place on this. I was seeing how much readers I've had for "Theresa" and "Slide Before You Leap", I thought it time to post yet another story. -------------------------------------- This book is dedicated to Kristi Sterling, a good friend who was always there to encourage me to "reach the unreachable star". And to Theresa Theis for being patient enough to "proof-listen" my stories. Thank you, both of you, "whom I shall ever regard as the best and wisest [friends] I have ever know." Chapter 1 It was a beautiful sunny day in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on April 10, 1989. It was the ideal day for the show. The arena was set out towards the plains. It was large and oval, about the same size as Penrose Stadium, a horse arena much closer to the mountains. The surface of the arena was white concrete, unmarked by lines caused by cement block laying. Around the arenastood five large sets of benches made of sturdy aluminum. The sun reflected off the aluminum stands, making them look more silver than they really were. The white concrete also reflected the sun, causing the entire arena to gleam dazzling white. A woman wearing Levi's jeans, a plain white men's t-shirt, and a pair of Reebok tennis shoes came into the arena with a smile. The weather was perfect: sunny, just a little bit cloudy, and a soft breeze. Surely there will be a big audience today; she was certain of it. Susie Paprocki was only five feet one inches tall but no one misjudged her by her size. She had short dark brown hair with brown eyes which showed firm determination. Her face was tanned lightly and made her look as if she were in her late twenties. She was actually thirty-four years old. She looked around the arena cautiously. They had problems with wandering animals and teenagers before but, this time, nothing was there. Everything was clear. She turned back to an entrance much like that seen in a football stadium, only much smaller. "Okay, guys! Move it or lose it!" She walked towards the entrance. "Show time is only in two hours!" "Gotcha, Susie!" a male voice shouted back. It belonged to an average height man with blond hair that hung around his ears and stayed curly all the way through. His eyes were teal green, making him look like an actor straight out of Hollywood. He, like Susie, also wore a white t-shirt and blue jeans. They accentuated his muscular build, making him look more bulky than he really was. "Do you think we'll have a good crowd today?" he asked as he carried a large piece of metal out onto the concrete. Susie grabbed another as he spoke. "I don't know, Bill. I hope so. And I hope Jack decides to join us today." She grunted as she put a piece of metal beside Bill's on the floor of the arena. Bill sighed. "That guy thinks _he_ is the show when actually _you_ are." He walked towards the entrance to retrieve another piece of metal. "It's your show," he shouted to her. "Without you, he'd be out of a job." "Haywood's right, Susie," another man said as he came out with yet another large piece of metal. "The man's an egotistic bum! 'Stutzman the Stuntman!'" He put on a face as if he were announcing the Queen of England. Susie shook her head. "Just move your ass, 'Shake 'n' Bake'. We're running out of time and we have to set up this new ramp." "Shaakeen Baker to the rescue," 'Shake 'n' Bake' answered, taking his piece to where Bill had left his. Shaakeen was a tall black man with a shaven head that made him look more attractive than if he had a full set of hair. He wore the uniformic t-shirt and jeans; however, his t-shirt was decorated with a black and white artistic drawing of Jimi Hendrix on the front. His height of six feet one inch made the shirt hang loosely on him. He was younger than Bill, who was thirty-seven years oldm by a decade. He and Bill started to put the ramp together as Susie continued to bring parts and tools out from the office/warehouse with the large entrance. They finished building the ramp with only forty-five minutes to spare until the show was to start. They still had to get into their costumes and do a few quick practices. The new ramp was moved into place by Bill and Shaakeen while Susie went to the ticket office to allow her hired cashier into the ticket booth. As she finished this task and went back towards the arena, she was acutely aware of something lurking in the shadows to her right. She stopped for a moment, listening. "I stopped believing in ghosts a long time ago," she said aloud with a frown, not turning around. "Too bad," came back an echoed response. "I always liked a good ghost story." "Really?" Susie asked, a slight smile on her face as there was a motion behind her. "How about the story about the Vanishing Motorcyclist?" "Sounds like my kind of story," the voice said in her ear. "Why don't you tell it to me?" Susie got a sultry look on her face as she turned around and kissed the shadow passionately on the lips. Coming away for some air, she smiled. It was both friendly and rebuking. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Jack Stutzman the Stuntman." The smile faded into a frown. "You're an hour and a half late." "Hey," Jack told her with a pleasant smile. "I don't let anything get in the way of my lifestyle and that includes time." Susie glared at him. "Stutzman, you're walking a very thin line." Jack gave her a knowing glower. "Listen, Mrs. Paprocki. Don't think you can threaten me with being fired. You need me to much for that. I'm your show-stopper, remember?" "Don't call me Mrs. Paprocki," Susie told him. "You're not as important as your self-imposed ego makes you think. You're not the only stuntman on two wheels. You're not even half way to being the best. The only reason you're not being fired is that I only have Shaakeen and Bill to help me with this show and Bill's only musical entertainment, remember?" "So, how is ol' 'Shake 'n' Bake'?" Jack asked, a malicious smile on his lips. "And Mr. Hollywood?" "They are Mr. Baker and Mr. Haywood to you, Stutzman," Susie reprimanded. "You still love me, don't you?" Susie laughed sickly. "Sometimes I wonder what I see in you! You're just like Gary! You're a stubborn, egotistic, loud-mouthed show-off!" Jack thought for a moment and then nodded his head. "Yeah, that about describes me." Susie didn't want to but she laughed. She wanted to stay angry with him for being such a selfish son of a bitch. But something about him stopped her every time. Despite all of his flaws, Jack was the most sexually attractive man she had ever seen. Her laughing died down. "Gawd! Sometimes you are such a pain in the ass! In fact, most of the time, you're a pain in the ass!" She looked up at his seven feet seven inches height, his beautifully combed black hair, his gleaming black eyes, his perfectly oval face with the slight scar on his left cheek and her heart pounded. "Ummm..." she stammered. "You... You'd better get ready. The show starts in thirty minutes." "Yes, ma'am," Jack answered with a salute. He went back into the shadows and came out on a polished red 1975 Harley-Davidson motorcycle, the engine running. "Just wait 'til after the show. I have a new stunt to show you." He rode into the arena with an alluring smile. Susie watched the bike disappear with dream-filled eyes. Suddenly, the reality of what had happened struck her in the face. "Damn! He did it to me again!" Sighing, she went into the arena to practice her own part of the show. ************************ "Come in," Admiral Albert Franklin Calavicci answered to a knock on the door. His voice was brusque, telling that, even though he was alone in his office with nothing to do, he really didn't want to be interrupted. "Al, are you okay?" Tina asked in a concerned voice as she stood in the doorway. "You haven't left your office all day." Al sighed. He had never wanted to be brusque with Tina. In fact, if anything, he realized that he desperately needed her companionship. She had no idea what this day did to him. She was never there before. She was always with her family in California this time of year. But this year, she wasn't. There were far too many things to do in the complex before the year 2000 came upopn them. And Al hadn't done any of it today. "Oh, Tina," he said apologetically. "Come in. I'm sorry I was so cross." Tina complied with Al's request and sat across from him at his desk. "Al, what's wrong? I've never seen you like this. And Ziggy tells me this is the first time you've ever come to the complex on this date. Please, tell me what's wrong." Al lowered his head and sighed. "Please, don't ask me that, Tina." "I just did," Tina pointed out. Al looked at her. She was very beautiful. He had always thought so, ever since he saw her for the first time over a poker table in Las Vegas. Her long auburn hair was now pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of her long, lightly-tanned neck. Her brown eyes shined even when they were dulled with concern. Just looking at her brought a smile to Al's face. But just as suddenly as he smiled, the smile faded away. It felt all wrong. It felt wrong to love her. He leaned back into his chair. How could she possibly understand what was going through his mind? The what-ifs that danced rapidly behind his black eyes. "Al, talk to me," Tina said determinantly. Al frowned. "Dr. Beeks has already done the annual psycho-analysis on me. Don't start another tradition." Now it was Tina's turn to sigh. "Al, why are you closing everyone out? And why on December 9th every year? What's so important about this date? What makes you act like this? Come on, Albert! Talk to me!" "Tina!" Al shouted to hush her up. He shook his head and looked up to the ceiling. He closed his eyes and exhaled loudly. He then looked at Tina in the eyes. "Listen. I'd prefer not to talk about it, okay?" Tina sat there quietly, waiting. A minute passed without a sound from either of them. Al could feel Tina's waiting eyes on him. Finally, he caved into the silence and to Tina's patient stare. "You're worse than Verbina," he complained, placing his elbows on his desk and rubbing his face with his hands. "Okay, okay. Thirty-one years ago today, I was shot down by the VC." He said the fact quickly, as if saying it would relieve some of the terrible pain in his soul. He said it so fast, Tina barely got the meaning of his words. "You couldn't have prevented that," she told him. "You have no reason to feel guilty." Al gave a sick little laugh. "I don't feel guilty." "Then what is it?" Tina asked. "I'm afraid you wouldn't understand even if I told you." "Let me be the judge of that," Tina told him. "I know what happened to you in Vietnam. I've seen the scars on your back. I've been with you when you've had your occasional bad dreams." "But you can't understand it. There's more to it than knowing what happened," Al said quietly. "Please, just let me think in peace." Tina nodded with understanding. "You still love her." Al's head popped up in surprise. "What?" "This isn't about Vietnam. Not completely. This is about your first wife," Tina surmised. "You still love her." Al looked at Tina. "I love you," he told her in a corrective manner. "That doesn't mean you don't love her," Tina pointed out. "And I've accepted that a long time ago. It doesn't change the way I feel about you. I can understand it. In many ways, I'm still in love with my ex-husband." Al swallowed hard. He looked at Tina. "The question now is," Tina continued, "why are you here when you're normally at home." Al blinked, piercing his lips. "Earlier this morning, I got a viewcall. It was Dirk Simon." "Who?" Tina asked gently. Al closed his eyes. "Beth's husband. Beth had long ago learned that I wasn't killed in Vietnam but she never bothered to try to get hold of me. I guess we both had old wounds we didn't want to open." He took a slow breath. "She had wanted to talk to me, to reconcile our differences but she neve got up the courage and neither had I. But now, it's too late." He swallowed back some of his pain. "She died in a plane crash three days ago. Her funeral is tomorrow at four o'clock. Simon thought I should know." "Oh, Al!" Tina consoled gently, standing up and going around the desk. "Oh, Al, I'm so sorry." She hugged him. "You must have loved her so much." Al replied by holding Tina tighter. He needed her. His four other wives have never really understood, probably because he never told them about Beth. Tina, on the other hand, came as close to understanding as anyone could. Anyone other than Sam, that is. "Come with me tomorrow," Al begged her, standing up. "If you really want me to." "I do," Al told her. He touched her hand lovingly. "Then, I will," Tina reciprocated by holding his hand firmly but lovingly. "But for now, let's go home." Al nodded slightly and then slowly led Tina out of his office. --------------------------------------- So what do you think? I hope to post Chapter 2 next week so keep your eyes open. Kat