What Might Have Been 9

The slamming of a car door alerted Meyer Slotkin that his business partner had returned, and he scrambled to make himself look busy closing his Internet browser that at that moment was filled with pictures of gorgeous and very scantily clad women. His hands flew across the keyboard with the swift clattering of keys being pressed followed in rapid succession by a similar barrage of mouse clicks. When the door to their shared office finally swung open Meyer appeared to be engrossed in a series of complicated looking financial spreadsheets.

He glanced up as the door shut.

"I'm glad you made it in we have a lot of work piling up around here," said Meyer in a tone carefully crafted to sound both irritated and weary at the same time.

The face on the man standing in the doorway barely registered the effect of either emotion. He stared blankly back at Meyer looking like someone who had just seen their life changed unexpectedly, and not for the better.

Meyer's features softened, and he sat back from his computer, "How did it go?"

"Fine. The judge pretty much rubber stamped everything on the decree, so I guess that's it.

"You're a free man."

"I suppose so..."

"You know, Kyle, a lot of folks in your situation would be smiling and seeing this as a good thing."

Kyle Flynn, recently divorced and part-owner of the software company Cyber Elite sagged into his office chair.

"If you say so it's just hard to believe it's over."

"Think of it like most folks your age. They would call it a starter marriage that ends with no kids, no debts, and no regrets."

"One out of three ain't bad I guess," replied Kyle staring morosely at his keyboard.

Meyer declined to guess which one Kyle was referring too and instead stood to pour himself a cup of coffee from the pot that percolated on a table in the corner.

"I'm not sure what you're so glum about. You gave Heather four good years, and she gave you a mountain of heartache. How many times did she cheat on you? Two...Three?"

"It was three, four if you count the drunken hand-job she gave Ronnie Miller at the Tech West trade show last year."

"Right! Boy! Did her eyes get big when we walked into that conference room an hour early? I guess she should have paid more attention to the schedule, and less to the open bar, huh?."

"Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Meyer."

Clearing his throat in embarrassment Meyer returned to his seat, and a heavy silence filled the office.

"Oh! While I'm thinking of it, your tailor called. They finished altering your suit, and it's ready for you to pick up," said Meyer.

"Good. I'm sorry I have to leave you for a bit. I know you've been covering a lot of stuff around here while this divorce thing has been playing out."

"It's your sister's wedding, Kyle, I think that might be more important, and I don't mind. Though carrying the weight of this company can be a burden," he replied with a mock sigh.

Kyle smiled for the first time since walking through the door, "I think your slender shoulders can bear it."

"We also got a ton of mail this morning. One piece, in particular, caught my attention. This invitation to the Alfred K. Merton High School Reunion class of 2008."

"Give me that! Are you opening my mail again?"

"I can't help it my mail is so boring. I couldn't help but notice that the date of the reunion is just a few days before your sister's wedding. Didn't you tell me that the girl that your sister hired to do her wedding planning was an old flame of yours?"

"Debbie Harwin...We dated for three years in high school but broke up right before graduation. I had gotten a scholarship to a school out of state, and we sort of agreed that a long distance relationship wasn't fair to either of us."

"By the sound of your voice, I get the impression you didn't necessarily agree with that decision."

"I don't know it made sense at the time. I won't say that I never had a few thoughts about how my life would have been different if Debbie and I had stayed together, but that's what happens when you hit those fork in the road moments. There is no way to know what would have happened if you took the other path."

"What might have been," said Meyer quietly.

"Yeah. Anyway, it's interesting that they are at the same time, but I will probably be too busy with wedding stuff to take the time to attend the reunion."

"What if Debbie is going to be there? It could give you a real chance to reconnect. Maybe this is fate calling, Kyle. The same girl you were in love with in high school is doing your sister's wedding, and now the reunion..." said Meyer waggling his eyebrows and grinning.

"I think you're reading way too much into this it's a small town, Meyer."

"Maybe...or maybe not..."

"We'll see, let's just try to get some work done o.k.?"

Meyer shrugged and returned to his computer screen, but despite his words, Kyle continued to look at the invitation in his hand rubbing his jaw thoughtfully.

The airport was tiny and crowded leaving Kyle to dodge around his fellow travelers like a running back looking for holes in the defense. In the distance, he saw his sister, Jill, waving at him. The two of them were very obviously family both with the same brunette hair and green eyes. Kyle favored his father with lighter skin courtesy of his Dad's Irish heritage while his sister had the swarthier look of his Mothers Mediterranean background. Jill was a good six inches shorter than Kyle's six-foot-one-inch frame, and her head smacked him squarely in the chest as she went in for a hug.

"Hey! Big Brother! It is so great to see you!"

Kyle wrapped his arms around his smaller sibling squeezing her tight.

"You to kid! Thanks for coming to pick me up."

"It's fine I was looking for a reason to play hooky from work anyway. How was your flight?"

"Bumpy as all get out. I'm glad to be back on the ground."

The pair walked together toward the parking lot with Kyle dragging his suitcase alongside him one wheel squeaking constantly.

"I thought you were going to get a new suitcase? That one must annoy the heck out of you."

"I was, but I'm kind of nostalgic about this one. It was Dad's."

They grew quiet for a moment each contemplating their memories of their departed parents. Kyle and Jill's mom had died of cancer when they were still in high school. Their father had followed her just the previous year dying of a heart attack. Jill had asked Kyle to give her away in her Dad's place, and he had readily agreed.

Kyle slung his suitcase into the trunk of Jill's car placing his suit bag in with it before jumping into the passenger seat.

"Are you hungry? I thought we could stop at Billy's Burgers."

"Ah! A Billy burger guaranteed to give you heartburn for two to three days."

"Minimum," laughed Jill.

The restaurant was lightly populated for the time of day, and Kyle ordered a burger combo thinking back to all the times in his youth when he had done the same thing. He glanced around the inside of Billy's remembering nights spent laughing with friends at these very tables, and just for a moment, he had a perfect image of he and Debbie Harwin holding hands while sharing a milkshake. His sister had picked a corner booth, and he slid in across from her.

"Lot's of memories in this place," she commented like she was reading his mind.

"Yeah. That's no lie. If I had a dime for every night I spent here I could retire."

"You and...What was her name?"

"Don't be a smart ass."

Jill chuckled stopping to take a bite of her cheeseburger.

"I hear that the reunion is this week," she added casually.

"I heard the same thing."

"You going to go?"

Kyle sat back wiping some ketchup from his chin.

"I don't know. I was thinking I didn't want to get distracted from the wedding."

"Because your part is so hard? You have to walk me less than a hundred feet. How much practicing did you think you would need for this arduous task?"

"Man, you got a mouth on you! Does Gary know you're such a pain?"

"Yes, and he loves me for it," said Jill sticking out her tongue.

Her hand was suddenly on top of Kyle's, and she looked at him with concern.

"I know the last few years have been hard for you, Kyle. Go to the reunion. See some friends and have a good time. I think you deserve at least that much."

"Do you know if Debbie is going?"

"I think I heard her mention it. To be honest, we have been so busy with the wedding stuff I haven't talked much with Debbie about personal things. She was always a little stand-offish in that regard."

"She liked to keep her private business...Private. That was Debbie alright." said Kyle.

They finished their meal and Jill drove Kyle to his hotel to drop off his things than over to her house. Gary Taylor was waiting for them. He was Jill's fiancée` and had been a family friend since the three of them had been in grade school together. Gary had always had a bit of a crush on Jill, but only during college had it blossomed into a full-on romance. Jill walked right up to him when they reached the house throwing her arms around his neck for a loud, wet kiss.

"Ewww...Get a room!" moaned Kyle putting his hands in front of his face.

Gary reached out with one hand while slipping his other arm around Jill's slender waist.

"It's good to see you, Kyle. We're both glad that you could be here for this it means a lot."

"Thanks, Gary. We're glad you're becoming part of this family. I knew the day I caught you stealing the last piece of leftover supreme pizza out of my fridge after Jill's twelfth birthday party that you were destined to be a member."

"What the hell? I was saving that piece for my dinner!" said Jill smacking Gary on the arm.

"Thanks, Kyle. You were supposed to take that one to the grave."

"Sorry, Gary. I think this occasion calls for us to air any last minute grievances. She can hold a grudge can't she." said Kyle his face breaking into a grin.

Gary and Kyle spent the afternoon helping Jill put together the seating chart for the wedding. They dined together before dropping Kyle back at the hotel so he could get some sleep.

The following day was filled with errand running to pick up various wedding related things. Though he was fully invested in helping his sister, Kyle couldn't entirely get his mind off the reunion that was starting promptly at six o'clock that evening. The afternoon ended all too quickly, and Gary dropped Kyle off to change before the festivities. Gary had offered to drive him over to the reunion as well, but Kyle opted to take a cab feeling like he was imposing too much already.

Merton High had changed surprisingly little in the ten years since he had seen it last. A new coat of paint adorned the main building, and a series of single-story classrooms had been added on one side, but other than that it looked much the same as it had the last time Kyle had walked the halls as a student. The cab cruised past the old school dropping him off at the city convention center a few miles up the road. A group of people dressed for a night out milled around out front where a table had been set up off to one side of the main door. A tall blond stood nearby checking off items on a clipboard in her hands.

"Susan Presser? Do you remember me?" asked Kyle when he reached the table.

"Oh! My lord! Kyle Flynn! It has been forever since I saw you last! Look at you? You've hardly aged a day."

Susan came over to pull Kyle into a hug. They had been lab partners in Biology their sophomore year. Kyle still recalled how Susan had nearly vomited all over him when it came to their turn to dissect a frog.

"It's good to see you again, Susan. I would say the years have been kind to you as well."

She ran over to the table and returned with a badge that was emblazoned with a photo of Kyle taken straight from his senior yearbook. He looked it over once thinking that Susan needed glasses if she couldn't see how much he had changed from the skinny young man with the lopsided grin that smiled back at him in the black and white photo.

"You go right on in the party is already in full swing. It's open bar don't ya know!"

Kyle passed through the scarred metal doors but stopped not far inside letting his eyes adjust to the dim light. The large ballroom brought back memories of his senior prom which had been held in the same place. He spied a few familiar faces but not the one he was looking for, so he sauntered over to the bar asking for a beer. The bitter liquid made him grimace a bit as it slid down his throat. He wasn't much of a drinker but given his recent setbacks now seemed as good a time as any to indulge.

"Kyle?" said a voice from behind him.

The voice belonged to Jack Shermer, the former starting quarterback for the Merton High School Marauders. It appeared that Jack had found his appetite after all those years of student athletics. He was carrying quite a few extra pounds, and his round belly pushed at the front of his suit pants.

"Jack. It's good to see you! I haven't seen you since..."

"I missed you with that pass that would have won us a state quarterfinal game," finished Jack.

"As I remember it I ran the wrong route. If I had been in the right place, your pass would have been on the money."

Jack slapped him on one shoulder, "You haven't changed, Kyle, still trying to make everyone else feel better about themselves. You were where you were supposed to be the pass was shit."

"It's ancient history anyway, Jack."

"Maybe for you. I still hear about it. This town never forgets..."

The bitterness in Jack Shermer's voice was disturbing. Kyle wondered how much of Jack's weight gain was guilt over a simple mistake he made as a kid ten years earlier. Funny, how a small thing like that can stick with you.

"Let me get you a drink, Jack. This is supposed to be a party," said Kyle soothingly.

He snagged another beer from the bar handing it over, and Jack inhaled half of it in a single, long pull.

"So you came all this way for the reunion."

"That, and my sister's wedding."

"Oh! Yeah, I heard Jill was getting married. Congratulations. She must be excited. Marriage...It's a great thing to find that one true love."

Now it was Kyle's turn to feel regret. He stared down into his beer thinking of his ex-wife and four wasted years.

"Speaking of true love here comes a face you should remember."

Kyle turned to see where Jack was looking. The crowd around the door had parted, and a blond haired woman of medium height stood just inside the venue. It had been ten years since he had seen her last, but Kyle would have recognized her anywhere. Debbie Harwin had stopped, much as he had, to let her eyes adjust giving him time to look her over from top to bottom. The years had changed her slightly but in only positive ways. She had filled out a bit no longer the skinny high school girl she had once been the added weight bringing more definition to her sweet curves. Debbie had never precisely been chesty, but she had expanded up top quite a bit, and her breasts swelled the front of her low cut green dress. The calm expression she had been wearing when she walked in gave way to a brilliant smile when she caught sight of Kyle, and she started toward him. Kyle took a deep breath trying to remain calm.

"Hello, Kyle," said Debbie in that same soft, slightly high-pitched voice he had heard so many times in school.

Her full, red lips were pulled back revealing rows of brilliant, white teeth. The thing Kyle had always liked most about Debbie, her deep blue eyes, sparkled in the flashing lights of the dance floor nearby.

"Hello, Debbie," replied Kyle not quite able to hide the shaking in his voice.

Jack stood uncomfortably between the two of them as they stared at each other.

"I think I'll leave you two alone," said Jack finally. Neither Kyle nor Debbie acknowledged him when he walked off.

"Do you remember the last time we stood in this same spot?" she asked.

"Prom night 2008. You were wearing a red dress. The off the shoulder one you bought at Kline's."

"I spent weeks looking for that dress. I wanted to impress you."

"You did. I thought you were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen."

The was a moment of silence between them, and for one crazy second, Kyle had the urge to scoop Debbie into his arms kissing her just as he would have back in the day.

"Then you left," she said with a hint of bitterness in her tone.

"Yeah, I did. I recall that being a mutual decision."

"Is that what you recall? I suppose it was from your perspective. Kyle Flynn, the man with the big dreams. This town always stifled you. I could see how badly you wanted to get out who was I to stand in your way."

"Debbie...I was a kid back then and..."

"You don't have to explain it, Kyle. It was the right thing for you just like staying here was the right thing for me."

Kyle scratched the back of his head in thought wondering just how right it had all been. It was true all he had talked about back then was putting this town in his rearview after high school, but after all he had seen since maybe it hadn't been the best decision he had ever made.

"I need a drink," blurted Debbie.

"O.K...Um...Let me get you something," mumbled Kyle his mind still trying to play catchup with his emotions.

"I can manage, thanks."

The sudden coldness in her voice made the temperature in the whole room seem to drop. Kyle followed in her wake while she got a rum and coke from the bar.

"Look, Debbie, I can't undo what happened back then..."

"You never called, not even a card or a letter."

"I thought it would be easier for both of us to make a clean break. Don't think I never thought about you because I did almost every day."

"It was hard to tell that from my end."

"You're not going to make this easy are you," said Kyle sounding frustrated.

Debbie's features softened slightly, "I'm sorry. This is all in the past, and I shouldn't be holding it over your head. I could have tried to reach out to you I guess, but after that last conversation it didn't seem like you wanted me too."

"I wasn't sure what I was doing back then. I cared for you a great deal. I did want more though, more than I thought I could find in the city limits of this place."

"It's o.k. I guess it worked out for the best for both of us. You're the successful big city guy you always wanted to be, and I haven't made a bad life for myself here."

"Jill says you are doing an amazing job on her wedding."

"Jill is a sweetie. I think she and Gary will be very happy together.

Debbie paused to take a sip of her drink, "I was sorry to hear about you and..."

"Heather," Kyle finished for her.

"Heather...I guess those big city girls can be a handful."

"You have no idea. Debbie, I wanted to..."

"Debbie Harwin! Oh! Wow!"

A small, energetic looking brunette popped out of the crowd pulling Debbie into a hug. The two women started talking to each other a mile a minute while Kyle stood to one side trying not to get in the way. He vaguely recognized the smaller woman as one of Debbie's friends from back in the day though her name was eluding him at the moment. The interlude did give him time to consider what he should say next. In his mind, he wasn't sure how he had thought this meeting was going to have played out. He had to admit he had been hoping that the years would fall away and he and Debbie would look at each other exactly as they had back then. He was starting to realize that had been a very naive and unrealistic hope. She did look damn good though and the more he looked, the more he wanted to find a way to get back into her life.

The conversation between the two ladies didn't show any signs of slowing and Kyle was about to finish his beer when a shorter, dark-haired gentleman he hadn't met before sidled up next to him.