Chapter Six
A chorus of voices greeted him. "Walter!" "Walt!" "Hey, 197, glad you could
finally join us."
"Uh, what's going on?" he said, his mind still reeling. He had been expecting
Toby, Cabe, Sylvester, and Ralph. But. . .Linda? Tim? And Happy? What the
hell had happened? He'd only been asleep eight hours.
"We're playing poker," said Ralph. "Toby taught me how."
"I've created a monster," said the psychiatrist with a groan. A glance confirmed
his statement as the largest pile of matchsticks rested in front of the boy
genius.
"So where's Paige?" asked Tim, staring at his cards.
"Taking a shower." Oh great, now they were all going to be thinking of her
naked. Although it was only Tim whom he felt like punching for doing so.
Walter's hands curled into fists.
"Feeling a little dirty, is she?" Toby's off color remark earned him a head
slap from Happy, who hissed, "Can it, numb nuts. Her kid's right there."
"Ow, sorry. I couldn't resist." He waved in Walter's direction. "It's obvious
they didn't do anything. He's wound tighter than a spring."
"I see you and Happy have gotten over your embarrassment of a proposal,"
Walter said in retaliation.
"Well, not really. There are some legal issues we need to take care of,"
said the shrink. "But, yes, we've talked it out and everything is copacetic
again. Thanks for asking."
An awkward silence ensued for a few moments until Linda stood up. "Uh, can
I talk to you, Walter?" she asked, glancing around at the others around the
table. "Somewhere private?"
"Yeah, okay." Wondering what she wanted to discuss, he led her to the interrogation
room. "I just want you to know I'm sorry. . .about everything," he said.
"Not as sorry as I am," she said with a sigh. "I'm sorry I hit you." Her
eyes darted to his cheek, then away. "I was kind of, um, a bitch to you in
Tahoe. And I wanted to talk about giving you another chance. . ."
His shock must have shown on his face because she hurriedly continued. "But
now that I've talked with Tim and the rest of your. . .friends, I know that's
a terrible idea. I was right, you're in love with her, and I never stood
a chance.
"I just don't understand why. . ." She gulped and Walter saw she was fighting
back tears, making him feel shittier than he already did. "Why you did it.
The speed dating, going out with me, inviting me on a weekend trip, giving
me expectations. Was I just an experiment? A substitute for who you really
wanted?"
She wiped at her eyes as Walter struggled to answer. He had two choices,
and neither spoke well of him nor his motives. He decided on the truth. She
deserved it.
"Yes, it was an experiment. I was trying to bury the feelings I have for.
. .er, Paige. . . and I thought if I could replicate those same feelings
with someone else, I could validate my hypothesis that love is nothing more
than an combination of endorphin and dopamine overstimulation leading to
an temporary euphoric state. Only I learned it wasn't.
Linda looked a little dazed and he wondered how much of his explanation she
understood. "You were never a substitute," he added. "You just weren't. .
.her."
"Except when you tried to have sex with me."
"Yeah, that was a mistake." He touched his bruised cheek. "I deserved this."
"You did." She frowned. "Wait, what was a mistake? Pretending I was someone
else or having sex with me?
"Er. . . Both? Walter flinched, sure she would slap him again.
"I'm not going to hit you," she said with a sigh. "Well, thanks for telling
me the truth. Finally. "
"I am sorry." And he was. She was a nice person and he'd treated her badly.
"So, do you think we could still be friends? Or would that be too weird?"
"Weird seems to be the norm around here, so if you want to. . ."
His words trailed off as he looked out the room's window and saw Paige had
come downstairs. She was wearing a pair of his old sweats and his purple
shirt, with the sleeves rolled up and her belt cinching it around her waist.
He stared at her while she chatted with Toby and Happy before giving each
of them a hug. Then Tim approached her and after exchanging a few words,
the Homeland trainee led her off to an unoccupied corner of the garage. Brushing
Linda aside, he started off in the same direction. A hand firmly gripping
his shoulder halted his progress.
Walter whipped around to see it was Toby who had stopped him. "Whoa there,
pal," the shrink said. "Let them clear the air."
"You don't know what he did. . ."
"Yes, I do. I was here. You weren't."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Walter tried to shrug free but the psychiatrist
held fast.
"It means she didn't go rushing in to interrupt your little têtê-á-têtê
with Linda, the woman you were going to spend the weekend with, the woman
she probably thought you were sleeping with, did she?"
"No," mumbled Walter.
"Which means she trusts you." Toby let go then. "You trust her, right?" Walter
nodded. "You're new to all this, buddy. Love, jealousy; all those emotions
you don't have much experience with. You think because you want her, everyone
wants her, and you'll fight anyone you think is threatening your happiness."
Dammit. That was exactly how he felt. Sometimes it really sucked to have
a shrink for a best friend. And sometimes it was a good thing, he thought
as he watched Paige and Tim, the thoughts of doing harm to the Navy SEAL
fading away.
"And you really have to watch the jealousy," Toby continued. "Women like
it. . .up to a point. Then they don't."
"That doesn't make sense."
"No, it doesn't," the shrink agreed. "And every woman is different. Trust
me on this. You're gonna want to tone it down."
"Okay." Walter had a feeling it was going to be easier said than done as
he observed Paige interacting with Tim. His annoyance grew with every smile,
every laugh, and his fists curled once more when she lightly touched the
other man's arm.
She was a very tactile person, he told himself. She acted this way with everyone.
It was a major part of who she was. He was going to have to get used to it
because it was one of the things he liked. . .no, loved about her.
And then she was beside him, pressing the back of her hand against his. Sneaking
a glance at her, Walter smiled as he laced her fingers with his.
"So, are we still playing poker or what?" he asked. "And is there any food
left? I'm starving."
"There's some pizza," said Sly. "I don't know if you should eat it though.
It's been sitting out for a couple of hours."
"I think we ate everything from Kovelski's," Cabe said. "You snooze, you
lose, O'Brien."
"I'll see what I can find," Paige said with a laugh as she patted Walter
on the shoulder. "Deal me in, guys."
Walter found two more chairs and placed them next to each other at the already
crowded table. "Two more pigeons to pluck, eh, Ralphie boy?" said Toby as
he sat back down, rubbing his hands together. "I swear, this kid's a natural."
"That's because he's counting cards," said Sylvester.
"So are you," the shrink pointed out. "He's just better at it than you are."
Walter turned to Happy who was now sitting next to him. "You're okay with
this? Toby gambling?"
The mechanic shrugged. "He's had a rough couple of days. He needed to blow
off some steam. Besides. . ." She grinned. "It's fun watching him have his
ass handed to him by an eleven-year old."
The discussion over card counting disintegrated into a squabble about who
was the better poker player, which evolved into a debate who was smarter
when factoring book smarts versus street smarts. Paige handed Walter a plate
of food and a bottle of water before she sat beside him with her own meal.
"This is quite the family you've put together, Walter O'Brien," she murmured
before kissing him on the cheek.
He glanced at the people gathered around the table and smiled. Yes it was.