Kaleidoscope

Chapter Seven

Fall descended quickly in New England bringing with it Parents' Weekend. Danny was, once again, orphaned. With his mom's compulsion to be by Theresa's side every minute and his dad travelling, it was inevitable he would be alone. As if arriving by himself weeks earlier wasn't bad enough, he now had to face another onslaught of parents and their kids roaming the campus. Chuck graciously invited him to join him and his family, but Danny declined, making an excuse about some overdue school work. It wasn't far from the truth. He closed his door to shut out the noise of the reunions when he heard a knock. No one ever knocked at school; barging in was the norm. He was stunned when he saw his dad standing there.

"What are you doing here, Dad? Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"Well, I wasn't sure I could make it until the last minute and I didn't want to disappoint you. How are you, Danny?"

"I guess I'm alright," Danny answered, still feeling estranged from his dad. There followed a tense lull in the conversation. They were almost at an impasse for words. It was so strange to him that his dad was such a success in the business world and here he was tongue-tied around his own son. Danny suggested a place for dinner, hoping that it would help break the ice. Father and son wound their way through the family reunions taking place, unsure of where their own relationship stood.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Tom finally opened up with his son.

"How are you finding UMass? Are your classes challenging? Have you made any friends yet? How did you get up here?" he asked, words suddenly tumbling out of his mouth looking for a place to land.

"Oh, I took the train. Everything's fine," Danny answered, disappointed that his dad had been so out of touch. They hadn't seen much of each other since the separation, and part of Danny still hoped his parents would get back together. But he was afraid that boat had sailed. Still, no mention had been made of divorce.

"How's your mom?"

"I guess she's fine. She has a lot to do working with Theresa. I don't talk to her all that much."

"You need to stay close, Danny. Family is very important."

It sounded odd to Danny coming from a man who had abandoned his. He let it slide, not wanting to get into a confrontation.

After an awkward hour where parent and child tried to reconnect, Tom said he was exhausted from his trip to Europe and would head on back to the hotel. "I'll see you for breakfast in the morning, sport, and then I'm going to have to get back. Work continues." With that he shook Danny's hand and left. Nothing had changed.

Danny went back to his dorm, upset that his dad had to leave so soon; but he had shown up for part of the weekend — he would give him that. Come to think of it, how did he even know when Parents' Weekend was? Was he trying to reconnect somehow? Was he trying to make his way back into the family after all?

The next morning at breakfast, both seemed more relaxed than at dinner the night before, and Danny did wonder if there was hope for his family yet.  But his dad had crossed a line with the affair and they were all finding it difficult to accept and move on.

After his dad left, Danny headed over to the football game alone. He nudged his way into his seat and caught a glimpse of Kim out of the corner of his eye. He had a brief flashback to high school football games watching Theresa cheering out on the field. But this wasn't high school and this wasn't Theresa. It was Kim sitting with her family. A nice normal family, he thought.

When Kim looked across the bleachers she caught Danny looking in her direction, but he quickly averted his gaze when he realized she had seen him.

"Mom, there's the guy I was telling you about," Kim whispered, poking her mom in the side.

"It looks like he's alone," said her mom. "Should we ask him to sit with us?"

Kim wasn't sure. But when she saw him look over again and acknowledge her with a nod of his head, she made up her mind to go over to him. She squeezed into the small space next to him, feeling the heat of his thigh against hers.

"Are you alone, Danny?" she asked.

"Yeah, my dad was here last night, but he had to go back to work."

"Why don't you come sit with us?"

Danny hesitated. He felt awkward meeting the family of the girl who had so captivated him. He finally relented and moved over to sit next to the O'Malleys. Kim introduced her parents, Sarah and Ken. "And this is my little brother, Ryan." Color rose in Ryan's already chilled cheeks as he cringed at the term "little." Danny gave him a high five and Kim relaxed.

Danny spent most of the time discussing the game with Kim's dad and Ryan. He was acutely aware of Kim's close presence.

Sarah watched him furtively sneak glances at her daughter. She thought he was a nice young man and felt sorry that he was alone for the better part of Parents' Weekend. Turning into "mom" mode, she took a chance without consulting Kim. "Would you like to come to dinner with us tonight, Danny?"

"Thanks," he answered, "but I have some work to do. I appreciate the offer, though."

At the end of the game he thanked the O'Malleys. "It was very nice meeting you," he said politely and gave Kim a pensive look, connecting once again with her emerald green eyes. For a moment, he thought he was looking at Theresa. He left the stadium alone again.