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Good For PR

“What’s your fault? Slipstream seems alright.” Jeb glanced at Paul as he worked on his piece.

Paul’s eyebrows furrowed as he folded the knife and handed it over. “No thanks to me.”

“I remember the day you saved me from that thing.”

“That was different.” He leaned back in his chair and rocked. He closed his eyes and let the motion soothe him. “I didn’t put you there.”

“So, what happened?”

“Mr. West ran into me before the parade.”

“The Thanksgiving Day Parade?”

“Yeah, back in 2015.”

“How?”

“He was on his way back from the bathroom. They were set up across the street from Sentinels Station on the corner of 66th. The kids were fans, so Jim had them there early enough to secure a prime spot on the parade route.”

“Sounds like a good dad.”

“The best.”

Jeb sanded the handle of his piece as he watched Paul rocking.

“So, he says to me how the kids are huge fans and all that.” He clenched the arms of the rocker. “Says they’re looking forward to our float the most.”

“You guys had a float?”

Paul smirked. “Yeah, Lucky thought it would be good for PR after…”

“So, how does any of this become your fault?”

“I had to go and be Mister Big Shot. Figured it would be good for PR.”

“What would?”

“I pitched it to the team. The whole parade was stop and go.”

“Sure, the bands and stuff.”

“Yeah, all the little floor shows they put on for the judges at the review stand down the way. We knew we’d be stopped in front of our place a minute, so we gave the kids a shout out. They came up on the float for a quick meet and greet. Thrill of a lifetime. Right?”

“This is Eric and Jack?”

“Rose and Abby came up with them and the ME’s kids, Gopa and Sagar.”

“Bet they were excited.”

“Jeb, they were so jazzed.” He smiled as a tear slid down. “They were all smiles and high fives. Meirhe gave them each a magic cookie and all of us gave them our trading cards.”

“Autographed, of course.”

“Naturally.”

“Sounds alright.”

“It was until it wasn’t.” Paul stopped rocking. He doubled over and laced his fingers behind his neck. “Jeb, those poor kids.”

Carol backed into her garage. She didn’t really feel like it, but she hated backing out. It wasn’t a big thing, but it was something she actually had control of.

Control wasn’t the word of the day. It wasn’t even the word of the week. Everything had been out of control since Paul kissed her.

She sat there, numb, as she watched the garage door descending. She should have felt some comfort in that. She usually did.

The phone hummed and rattled in her cupholder.

‘God, now what?’

Sorry about Sarah
Want to talk?

‘Do I?’ She stared at the screen.

Can you come over?

‘Ball’s in your court now.’ She jammed the phone into her pocket and trudged into the house. The coat landed on the back of a chair. Her shoes fell off on the way to the stairs.

It wasn’t until she was done with her shower that she realized her phone was still downstairs in her coat pocket. She was halfway dry when she heard the doorbell.

“Nathan?” She froze. ‘Now what? I didn’t actually expect him to come.’ She dried herself frantically and threw on her pajamas and a robe. “Coming!”

She peeked through the eyehole in her front door. ‘It’s him!’ She opened the door. “Please, come in.”

He was wearing a cable knit sweater and jeans. “Carol, you look—”

She slapped a hand over his mouth. “Nathan, I missed you.”

His eyes crinkled in a smile as he pried her hand free. “Me, too.”

“I’ve had such a crazy week already. Can we just sit and talk?”

“Sure.” He held a hand out and she led him to the couch.

“Can I get you anything?”

“Maybe later, Carol.” He kicked off his shoes and sat down on the couch.

She cocked her head and studied him. Was this really Nathan?

He patted the cushion and smiled.

“Nathan, your face.”

He stroked his bare chin. “I hope you approve.”

“It’s not really my place.” She sat down to get a closer look.

“Of course, it is.” He took her hands in his. “It’s all I’ve ever really wanted.”

“What?” She shook her head. “Why?”

He kissed her hands. “Because I love you.”

Her mouth tried to form words.

“I thought you knew.”

“I hoped, but you never really said.”

He shrugged. “Seems like I was the victim of some bad advice.”

“What advice?”

“Somebody told me not to say it. They said if I showed you, you’d know.”

She put her hands over her mouth. “Why would they tell you a crazy thing like that? What girl doesn’t want to hear the words ‘I love you’?”

“When you put it that way…” He got a sheepish grin. “I guess I was afraid you wouldn’t say it back.”

“Nathan.”

“Carol?”

She reached out and felt his smooth upper lip and chin. He closed his eyes and savored the feeling. “I approve.”

He smiled. She leaned in and rested her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her. “How do you feel?”

“Better.”

“Were they able to help you in Empire City?”

“It went away on its own.”

“What was it?”

“You probably wouldn’t believe it.” She nestled in closer.

He rested his cheek on her wet hair. “I’d believe anything you tell me.”

“Good.” She smiled. “Then you’ll believe me when I say I love you, too.”

“I don’t see how anything is your fault, Paul. You were just trying to be nice to some fans.”

“I put them in harm’s way. If they hadn’t been on the float, they might not have gotten such a concentrated dose of that mutagenic compound. They were in the hospital for weeks, all wired up and intubated.”

“It worked out in the end. Didn’t it?”

“What if it hadn’t? We went to that hospital every day. Every day it looked like they were going to slip away. For what? So I could be the big hero?”

“Big is kind of your thing.”

“It didn’t keep those kids from spending the whole holiday season in a coma.” He stood up and paced around. “That family on Saturday. They looked just like the Wests. They were so happy to see me. The kids all starry-eyed and all I could see was Jack, Eric and the others in that hospital ward.”

“Did you set up the stuff that gave the kids their powers?”

“No, but—”

“Exactly, no buts. You didn’t do it. It’s not your fault. If the bad guys hadn’t released that stuff, it would have just been a nice thing to do for some fans.”

“But they did.”

“And you helped them, just like you help everyone else you meet. You saved me. You helped them deal with their powers. Give yourself a break, Paul.”

“I wish I knew how.”