"Tommy, there's a phone call for you!" his aunt yelled.
The young man woke up, realized he was still dressed, and stretched. "I'll be right there, Aunt Karen," he mumbled. He peered at the alarm clock next to his bed. It was eleven A.M. He hadn't slept that late in a long time. He stood up, stumbled out to the living room, and picked up the phone. "Hello?" he mumbled.
"Tommy?" The sound of Tina's voice woke him all the way up.
"Ah, yeah," he replied.
"Can...can you come over?" Tina asked. "There are some things we have to talk about."
"Sure, ah, I just, you know, got up. I-I have to get dressed," he stammered. "I-I could come over after I do."
"That's fine," Tina said. "I'll be waiting."
Tommy put the phone down and stood there. Tina had sounded strange, as if she was upset. He wasn't sure why.
"Who was that?" his aunt asked.
"Ah...Tina," Tommy replied. "She wants me to come over."
"After what Bud told me about last night, I'm not surprised," she replied. "Kim was right. You do have a crush on her, don't you?"
Tommy nodded and felt his face getting hot. "Yeah, I guess I do," he admitted. Actually, what he felt for Tina was more than a crush. He remembered what he told her the night before and went cold. Was that what she wanted to talk about? Was she angry with him because he said he wanted her?
As quickly as he could, he showered, shaved and got dressed. Then he got in his truck and headed for Tina's without eating breakfast. He was terribly nervous. What if she really was angry with him? What if she told him she didn't want to see him any more, and that he couldn't see Bobby any more?
He parked in front of Tina's apartment building, got out of his truck, and walked slowly up the walk. He took a deep breath and pushed the button for her apartment. She buzzed him in and he went up the stairs and found the door to Tina's apartment ajar.
He walked into the apartment expecting an assault from Bobby, but none came. Tina was sitting at the kitchen table, wearing an oversized blue T-shirt that was a pale purple color with white dots. Her lovely tan legs showed from under it. A bunch of what looked like legal papers lay spread out on the table in front of her. "Would...would you like some coffee?" she asked.
Tommy nodded. "Yeah, coffee would be OK," he said. He sat down at the table while Tina got up and got the coffee. She put the cup on the table in front of him and sat down.
She waved her hand over the papers lying on the table. "A...a messenger delivered these this morning," she said. The documents on the table were the notification from Attorney Brothers that a trust fund had been set up for Bobby and copies of the trust documents.
Tommy couldn't tell what Tina was feeling from the flat tone of her voice.
"Did...did you do this?" Tina asked.
Tommy took a sip of his coffee, then he nodded and said, "Yeah...I did."
"Why didn't you tell me? I..." Tina stammered.
"I wanted to do it," he said, "I didn't think I had to ask you. I mean, it's my money and all, and..."
"You should have told me before you did it," Tina said. There was a slight edge to her voice. "I don't need handouts."
"It isn't a handout," the young man said. "I wanted to do something for Bobby."
"But this says I'll be getting a monthly check for ten thousand dollars!" Tina exclaimed. "How...I...I don't understand? Where did you get that kind of money?"
"It's part of the money I inherited from Master Kwan," he explained. "It's a trust fund. You're just getting the interest from the trust."
"The interest..." Tina said. She drank some of her own coffee, then her eyes widened and she set the cup down abruptly. "Tommy, just how much money did you put in the trust?"
Tommy shrugged. "A million dollars," he replied.
Tina went pale. "A mill...mill...million dollars!" she stammered. "My God! Tommy, I...I can't accept that much! That money was left to you!"
"Why not?" the young man asked. "First of all, it isn't just for you, it's for Bobby. So he can go to college. I've still got plenty of money."
"But...this...it says I'll...I'll be getting ten...ten thousand dollars a month!" Tina exclaimed. She was trembling. "Why...?"
"Bobby's a bright kid," Tommy said. "He ought to have the chance to go to college when he gets old enough. With the trust fund, there won't be any problem with his doing that, will there?"
Tina was shaking her head. "My God!" she whispered. "A million dollars! You...you didn't have to do this! Not....not that much. I...I can't accept it. I can't."
"You don't have a choice," Tommy told her. "The trust is irrevocable. You'll get the checks every month, whether you want them or not. If you don't want to spend them, you can put them in the bank, or do whatever you want with them. I don't care. The only thing you can't do is give them back."
Tina looked at him. "Tommy! I mean it!" she said, her voice was quavering. "I-I don't take handouts. Not from anybody. I can support my son!"
"I know you can," Tommy said. "If you want to keep working, go ahead. And it isn't a handout. It's a gift. Hell, I've got more money than I can ever spend. Why shouldn't I use it to do something for somebody I like?"
"I-I don't know. It...it isn't right..." Tina said. She got up and began to pace.
Tommy watched her and realized, from the way various parts of her body moved, that she probably wasn't wearing anything under the nightshirt.
"I...you shouldn't have done it," Tina said. "At least not without telling me first."
"What would you have done if I'd told you?" he asked.
"I'd have told you not to do it," Tina replied. She stopped to look at him.
He smiled at her. "See?" he said, "That's why I didn't tell you."
