As the Zahn’s guests were arriving at the cookout, in California Luke was finishing his tour of where he was planning to spend his high-school years. Greg K. saved the athletic complex as where they would end the trek around the school ground. It made sense for the best part should be the last. Even with the school being one of the top-ranked schools in California, the athletic complex was the piece de resistance.

Jerry Brown High’s ground crew took great pride in their work and it was shown off by how well groomed the baseball and softball fields were. The lines on the tennis courts always look freshly painted. The most pristine part of the athletic complex was Slap Jack Mac’s personal zen garden, more commonly known as the beach volley courts.

Those courts would have still been the best in the district if the captain of the beach volleyball team did not also tend to them. Mack took extra care of the courts so they reflected what he expected from the team. Them giving their all. Another reason he took such great care of making sure the sand was as level as the state of Kansas was how relaxing doing so was. Working with the rakes was calmful to him.

Greg K. and Eck saying hi to Slap Jack Mac startled him some. It is always a little jarring to be taken away from inner peace to the external world. When the unknowing zen practitioner was back in the here and now, he was happy to see his two fellow members of the Cove Crew. Seeing Eck was a little added bonus. There was a little something he wanted to bring up with Eck.

The question of Eck joining the team has been on the captain’s mind for a while, he just never found the right time and place to bring up the offer. Slap Jack Mac did not want to put any pressure on Eck to join the team and asking him around the crew would have. Eck would be a great addition to the team but he wanted Eck to do so on his own.

Greg K. told Slap Jack Mac about giving Eck the tour of the school. That was a perfect segway into bringing up the offer to Eck. “Eck, dude you are going to love going to school here. Have you given any thoughts on what after school activities you are going to do? One of my favorites is the beach volleyball team. Last year we won sectionals and this year we are going to win states. Winning is great, but we have so much fun. We make sure that as we are doing our best we have the best time possible.”

Eck did his best not to laugh at the pitch he was given about joining the team. This so-called soft sell was harder than the concrete pole vaulting runway he just saw. He knew Slap Jack Mack was trying not to put pressure on him, but did not master being subtle. To make sure he did not have to hold in his laughter and his friend did not have to hold in his enthusiasm Eck said, “I am in.”

Now not having to curb his enthusiasm Slap Jack Mac had to talk about his plans. “Awesome. I am thinking of having you on one of the co-ed duos. I need someone as strong and confident in who they are as you are to team with Shy. Most of the boys on the team, even with trying their best cannot take a girl being the leader of the duo.”

Eck’s nonreaction to Slap Jack Mac’s innocent statement was an unnoticed sign of his personal growth. If the Pennsylvanian transplant was still stuck in his mental muck when he first arrived in Cali then he would have been hurt by those words. The compliment would have been taken as an attack to who he was. Eck would have read it as just another way of being called Luka, a sissy.

Right after the unrecognized milestone in Luke’s journey to healing a text came in. He quickly typed a response and said “Guys to Howlin’ Ray.”

********

The smile on Mary’s face was bigger than the emoji’s in Luke’s response of “CU there, bringing SJM, Ily :-)The smile did not come from Luke’s confirming he would be there. The answer Luke going to Howlin’ Ray was a foregone conclusion. After all, it was the best Nashville Fried Chicken joint in LA. The smile came from the interaction with her man. The smile also came from the knowledge that her man’s answer and keenness would have been the same if Mary wanted to meet at KFC.

Lil’ told her friends that Slap Jack Mac was joining them. Shy was looking forward to seeing him. Maybe he had a chance to ask Eck about joining the beach volleyball team. The girl wanted to start practicing with her new partner. They need to be like a teenage Justin Timberlake and be in sync.

Lil’ did not even mind that Eck would be captain on paper. Her friend was smart enough to defer to her suggestions. He knew she had a great understanding of the game. She did not mind dealing with a teenage boy’s fragile ego by him having the C instead of her. She knew it was hard enough for most of them to listen to anyone.

Shy, Lil’, Decaf, Silk, and three other Crew members finally hooked up with Eck, Greg K., and Slap Jack Mac. During the greetings, Shy asked the team captain what’s new. That question was as innocent as a dog caught with it’s head in the garbage. His teammate wanted to know how the recruiting went. “Other than finding your new partner for the volleyball team, nothing.”

Shy said “Cool.”

Luke jumped in “Shy, you are going to do great leading our mixed couple pairing.”

Shy was a little lost by what Luke said. It sounded like to her she was going to be captain of the pairing. Giving her that position was the right choice, but there were issues last year finding a boy who would let that be. Some of her teammates did not even want to be paired with her. They were scared of being bested by a girl on the sand court. Her reply was a soft OK.

Slap Jack Mac wanted to get to ordering. The new pair could talk about it between themselves after everyone had their food and broke off into their own conversations. This was the time to eat great food and hang out, not talk business. “Shy you are the captain of the duo.”

Hearing that made Shy figured out she sold Eck short about two things. How great of a teammate he was and also how assured he was of who he was. Her best friend’s boyfriend went with what was best for the pairing. He also cared about winning more than what other people were thinking. This season was going to be a great one for them for they both had the same goals of doing their best and be supportive to each other.

Shy’s confidence in their performance in the upcoming year made her drop wanting to practice with Eck. Coming on too strongly would come between their friends and why the duo was going to be good. They were already on the same page. They would not need to put in that extra time. Shy also knew he would do what was needed outside of practice to be the best he could.

After ordering the good eats, the crew sat at two picnic tables in the outdoor patio section. Those tables were going to be a makeshift version of their cove. Being at their home base was not about coordinates on a map, but a state of mind.

The gang of friends picked those tables to have some privacy and also to respect the other customers. They knew they were going to talk a little too loud and laugh a little too much. After finishing eating at Howlin’ Rays the Cove Crew stayed as they were by going back to the cove.

Back at the beach Luke and Mary made their way to the USC beach blanket. Even with being surrounded by friends those two were going to have some personal time. Their mindset, along with their crew respecting boundaries, will make privacy for the two lovers even while in a group of friends. Before leaving the group, Luke set him and Shy up for playing some volleyball together tomorrow afternoon. Being only in the company of Mary was important in maintaining their bond, but Luke wanted to make sure he kept his bond with others strong.

The next couple of hours Luke and Mary hardly said a word. They were too busy enjoying just being in the presence of the other. Much was said by Mary’s enjoyment in just laying on Luke’s chest as he gently played with her hair. This contentment was how they always wanted to feel. The peace which came from just being oneself and being next to the one they loved brought them a simple happiness which was stronger than any expensive gesture done to prove love. Their happiness came from substance as the joy from being wooed came from the stroking of one’s ego.

As the crowd of friends was leaving, Luke knew this magic moment was soon to end. He had to go back to his aunt and uncle’s to get a call from his parents. The intense urge to stay in this bliss as long as possible was not hard for Luke to deny. He knew that he and Mary would easily be able to find their way back to their personal paradise. They just had to be together.

Mary also knew it was time to go back to the ordinary world. She did not mind. A piece of her heart would always be in this moment. Carrying around something this special will make everything better. A person with high-spirits enjoys and appreciates the moment they are in. She kissed Luke goodbye and said, “I love you.”

Luke returned the “I love you.” They both knew that even with them parting ways, they would still be near to each other. After all where a person is at, is a state of mind. Their state of mind was filled with the love they had for each other.

***************

“Of course you can,” was the answer Fred gave Lori. What Lori got permission to do was to be the one who called Luke. His daughter wanting to be the one to greet Luke during the phone call showed so much progress. This was exactly one of the results Fred wanted from his disciplining his sweet pickle. The objective was in making Lori a better person and she was learning to have more empathy towards others.

Luke was caught a little off guard hearing his sister’s voice when he answered the call. Lori noticed and understood why. Luke knew that she was changing but still did not fully believe the new version of his sister. Lori not only had to show her change but wait for Luke to have faith in who she was becoming so he would not see her as who she was.

If she had not read about how hard it was to rebuild trust after breaking it, Lori would have joined in being reserved. Instead, Lori went with why she wanted to talk with Luke first. She wanted to hear how her brother and their West Coast friends were doing. After hearing all about Luke’s tour and him joining the beach volleyball team, Lori asked about Lil’, Shy, and Greg K. Those people were important to her for how they treated her. They gave her a second chance after she tried to humiliate Luke.

Lastly, she thanked Luke once again for the VIP tickets to Boyz+1. Her twin brother asked if Blake was looking forward to going. Now it was time for Lori to become reserved. The innocent question did pick open the wound of the breakup. Instead of lashing out, Lori told Luke that they had broken up.

Right away Luke started to console Lori. He made sure not to put down the boy who let his sister down. He knew the relationship between his sister and Blake was as stable as a water-soaked house of cards built on a lopsided table. That he was going to be Lori’s on again off again boyfriend until she saw Blake for who he was not who she wanted him to be. Until Blake had a catalyst for change like Lori did he was going to stay the same.

Lori left the room after handing her mom the phone. Fred’s ear perked up some. Listening in on a conversation was not normally his style, but he wanted to hear as much as possible. People will sometimes do something they find morally wrong to protect their kids. His wife's despicable actions of putting their son in a dress made Fred feel like she forfeited her right to privacy for now. She would earn his trust when she maintained the changing of her way.

Alice’s end of the conversation made the guilty husband feel better about monitoring the call. What Fred heard from his wife’s end of the conversation justified the sentinel’s vigilance. Luke’s mom brought up that he still had time to enroll at school back at home. Then she went on about how coming back home would help him and Lori repair their relationship. She talked about how Matt and Renee missed him and they could reconnect. The Saturday Morning Bike Club could ride again. When all these points failed Alice put some pressure on Luke by telling him to think about it.

Fred had enough and sternly told his wife to give him the phone. He was going to wait until his wife was done having a chat with his son to reassure him about being able to stay in Cali. The heavy-handedness of his wife's pitch to Luke needed to be stopped. Fred felt like he made a mistake by not watching what happened in his house when he was gone. He was not going to let his wife force her way on their son.

Fred greeted his son with “Hey there Luke, love you.”

“I love you also dad. How are you doing?”

“I am great. I do want you to know that you do not have to come home. You are free to stay in California until you want.”

“Yeah I do dad, that is why I told mom no. Anyway, I want to tell you about what's new with me.”

“We have time for that later. You have the final say on when you come back. You don’t have to listen to what your mom says about that. I do not want you to say yes when that is not what you want.”

Now it was Luke’s turn to reassure his dad. “I know I have the final say. I know that I can tell you if mom is putting too much pressure on me. Mom misses me and I understand that. I miss her, you, and even Lori a little, but my life is out here.”

Fred teared up a little. Some of the tears were from joy. His son was well on the way to becoming a man. Those two and half months in Cali surrounded by his friends gave Luke the support to find the confidence to become who he was going to be. Some of the tears were from pain. He blamed himself for the fractured family. If he did not downplay his wife's petticoat punishment he would have been like Joe Jackson and knew something was going on around here.

The pain from not doing enough disappeared when Fred heard about Luke’s day. At first, he thought that was a big day for Luke. Then he realized it was nothing more than a normal Saturday for his son. Since Luke has been living with his Aunt and Uncle he has been always having new adventures, facing new challenges, and making new memories with his friends.

As Fred and his son were having a moment, Alice was waiting for her husband to get off the phone. How dare the man she loved undermine her authority with their son. She was only trying to have Luke come around to her way of thinking. To tell the truth, Alice believed she had the right to make him come home. Luke was her son.

As soon as Fred hung up the phone Alice’s hackles went up. “Don’t you ever tell our son not to listen to me again. Also, don’t you ever eavesdrop on me again. You had no right to do so.”

“Alice I felt guilty listening in until you proved my doubt right. You tried to pressure and guilt Luke into coming home. I am happy that he told you no.

I will tell our son not to listen to you when you go against what is right for him. We gave him our word that he does not have to come back here until we moved. We haven’t even looked at new houses yet.”

“Yes, but things have changed. Luke is doing so much better, he can handle the kids. Lori also changed and she will help him integrate back in with her friends.”

“He is doing better. But you know why, he has a new life out there. He has a big group of friends, a girl he really fancies. Luke is so enjoying just being himself. If you were not so worried about having your way, you would have heard all about his day. He did so much today and at first I thought it must have been a great day for him. It wasn’t, it was just a normal day for him. He deserves that.”

“This is not about me needing to have my way. This is about me missing our son. This is about me wanting to do him right. I want to raise our son. I want to be the best mom for him, not my sister.”

Fred de-escalated the heated argument. His wife admitting she wanted to right a wrong took his temperature underneath its boiling point. “Alice, you are the best mom for Luke. You did him right by letting him move to California. It is hard. We all miss him and he misses us, but him living in California until he is ready to come back home is what is right for him.

“Luke knows you love him and he will always see you as his mom. Your sister is not going to take your place.”

Fred’s honesty, and him consoling his Alice, made her temper also go below boiling point. “I know. I am sorry. I was not thinking. I was just pointing out how different it will be around here if he came back home. I miss him so. I want to see my son. I want us to all talk not just take turns on the phone”

“He will be home for Christmas. We will start to do video calls with him. Me, you, and Lori will all be on with him at the same time.”

Fred hugged his wife as he was giving the best solution to her issue. Alice knew Fred’s answer was not ideal but it was what was best. Having Luke stay in California might hurt her, but Luke would be hurt more if he did not move back on his own. Alice knew the pain was worth the price because she was becoming the best mom for Luke.

Alice gathered herself and called Luke back. She wanted to hear from her son about his day and more importantly, tell him about the video calls. Hearing his mom’s voice made Luke ready to demand to talk to his dad. He was not going to let his mom try to wear him down. His oven-ready ultimatum was never used. His mom right away told him about the video calls and how that will make her miss him less. Those calls will also have the same effect on Luke.

Then his mom being engaged and intrigued about Luke’s day repaired the damage done by her browbeating Luke about coming home. By the end of the second call, Luke felt closer to his mom than anytime he could remember. The distance between them was becoming a weak obstacle to their connection. The strength of love and care could not be restricted by lack of physical proximity for it was a state of mind and being.