“Worth It”

Part 6

A short story based on the WB Series, “Tarzan”

By Deb Duncan

Disclaimer: Don’t own any of it…not the characters or the series in any form. I am making no profit off of this. I’m writing it purely for my own enjoyment, and hopefully for the enjoyment of some of the fellow Tarzan fans.

Distribution: If you want it, you can have it… just give me credit and tell me where it is going.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ms. Clayton, phone for you,” Mary said quietly.

“Thanks, Mary,” Kathleen said, picking up the extension in the living room. “Hello?”

“Hello Kathleen, it’s Jane.”

“Why hello, Jane. How are you?” Kathleen responded, smiling and lifting an eyebrow at John, whose head had turned instantly at the mention of Jane’s name.

“Just fine, Kathleen. Nikki and I and one of her friends are going to the new Tom Cruise movie, The Last Samurai, and we were wondering if you and John would like to go with us?” Jane hoped so; she wanted to be there when John experienced his first movie.

“Why Jane, you must be psychic. John and I were just discussing going to that very movie.” Kathleen smiled even wider at John’s slow crooked smile. “I’m sure he’d love to go, and I know I would. Hold on just a moment while I ask him.” She looked over at John, whose face had a look of utter joy on it now. Jane wanted him to go to the movies!

“John, Jane and Nikki are going to the movie we were just discussing and they want to know if we’d like to go, too. Would you?” Kathleen was pretty sure of the answer, but had to observe the proprieties.

“Yes,” John said happily, jumping up from the chair, “I want to go with Jane to the moo-vees.”

Laughing at John’s enthusiasm, Kathleen told Jane, “He says yes, Jane. What time should we meet you?”

“Well, we were going to go to the matinee at one o’clock; can you and John make it then?” Jane’s voice sounded hopeful, too.

“Sure, one o’clock would be fine. We’ll meet you in front of the theater in,” Kathleen looked at her watch, “about 45 minutes, okay?”

“Great! See you then,” Jane replied and hung up the phone. She needed to finish getting ready, too. She couldn’t wait to not only see the movie, but to watch John watch the movie. This was going to be great!

As Kathleen hung up the phone, she looked at John. “Well, it seems you’re in store for another new adventure, John. Let’s go get ready, okay?”

“Okay!” John agreed enthusiastically and raced up the stairs ahead of her. He was going to the moo-vees with Jane! He stopped suddenly and turned back towards Kathleen. “Do I have to wear shoes?” he asked.

“I’m afraid so, John. Why don’t you wear your new sandals?” Kathleen hoped he wouldn’t object too much.

“Oh. Okay,” John said. He didn’t mind wearing those, if he had to wear some. And he was going to see Jane! He wondered if Jane would sit next to him. He liked sitting next to Jane. Smiling again, he turned and flew up the stairs and disappeared into his parent’s old bedroom.

As Kathleen followed him smiling, she hoped fervently this would be a good experience. No telling how John would react to new things.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

John smelled the popcorn a block away from the movie theater. “I smell popcorn,” he told Kathleen, his nostrils flaring slightly.

“Yes, John. Movie theaters sell popcorn, drinks and candy so the people can eat it while they’re watching the movie. Kind of like when you eat a snack in front of the TV. Do you think you’ll want some?”

John nodded his head. “Yes,” was all he said because he was too busy looking around for Jane and Nikki. His eyes lit up and he smiled as he spied Jane, Nikki and another girl walking towards them from the opposite direction.

Kathleen waved at the three women as John and she moved towards them. John’s eyes were only for Jane. It felt like forever since he’d seen her, and it hadn’t even been 24 hours yet! His eyes gleamed as he remembered the passion they’d shared the night before. Her eyes matched his, as desire slowly curled through her body. Nikki chattered to Kathleen, introducing Mallory, as John and Jane just stood and stared at each other.

“Hello, Jane,” John said, reaching out and capturing her hand.

“Hi, John,” she replied, smiling at their joined hands. “Are you ready for this new adventure?”

“Yes. I missed you today,” he told Jane, stroking her face with his other hand.

“Me, too,” she said.

Nikki, hearing the last couple lines of their conversation, decided it was time to go in. Tom was waiting! “Hey, you two, cut it out! Or at least, wait until you’re in the dark theater. Jeez!” She smiled at Mallory and Kathleen; Mallory shook her head in agreement and Kathleen just smiled.

Jane, recovering first, looked at the rest of them sheepishly. “Okay, okay, we’re coming.” She looked at John, who only smiled, took hold of her hand, and then followed her into the theater.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Growling for yet the hundredth time, John’s eyes were glued to the huge screen in front of him and his body was tightly wound as he crouched on his seat, wanting to jump up and take part in the action. Fascinated, Jane watched John react to the action on the screen. Thank God Nikki and Mallory had sat in the third row instead of clear in the back with her, Kathleen and John. As it was, a couple of the people that were in front of them, but down a couple rows, had looked around when John’s growling had gotten too loud. ‘How to stop him from growling?’ Jane wondered for the umpteenth time. ‘And do I really want to try?’ No, she really didn’t. John was even more fascinating to watch than Tom Cruise, whom she’d always adored. Taking another bite of popcorn, Jane watched John closely and finally relaxed when he did.

Kathleen looked over at her nephew as he growled lightly, smiling again. She knew exactly why he was growling – because defenseless people were being hurt and he didn’t like that. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to bring John to an action flick for his very first movie. ‘Oh well, too late now,’ Kathleen sighed to herself, hoping that he didn’t get too much more excited by the movie. Next time, she’d have to bring him to a comedy or a plain old love story. Looking over at Jane, Kathleen noticed how engrossed Jane was in watching John instead of the movie. She laughed softly to herself. ‘I bet Jane doesn’t know half of what’s been happening in the movie, with as closely as she’s been watching John,’ Kathleen thought. ‘I just might have to tease her some about this later. Here I thought I might have to chaperone John with Jane, in the dark, and instead Jane’s had to keep an eye on John so he doesn’t race up to the screen and jump through it. Funny!’ Kathleen smiled again to herself and went back to watching the movie. ‘That Tom Cruise was just too handsome for his own good…and hers,’ was her last thought before she was absorbed back into the movie.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh God, that was fantastic!” Nikki yelled and twirled around in enthusiasm. “Didn’t you think so, too, Jane? Mallory and I loved it!” Nikki added as Mallory shook her head up and down.

“Yeah, Nik, it was great. Glad you had a good time,” Jane said, smiling at her sister’s enthusiasm. “How about you, Kathleen, did you like it?”

“Oh yes. I could watch Tom Cruise for hours and hours and never get tired of looking at him!” Kathleen smiled and sighed, remembering a former friend who had gorgeous eyes just like Tom’s. Maybe someday…

“How about you, John? How did you like your first movie?” Nikki asked John, noticing his look of concentration and how closely he stuck to Jane.

Looking at Nikki finally, John answered slowly, “At first I didn’t like that Tom Cruise. He was not being a good man. But later, when he helped the other people, then I thought he was good.” John looked at Jane and added, “And I do not think he is so good to look at.” He had a slight frown. “Do you think men with those long knives will come here – to New York?” he asked Jane, knowing that as a cop, she knew things he didn’t.

“What? No, John. What you saw was a pretend story that supposedly happened many, many years ago in another country called Japan. I don’t even know if there are any more samurai, John – the men with the swords. I think that way of life is gone forever.” Then she added, “At least I hope so.”

Nodding his head slightly in agreement, John replied, “Yes. I think it is a good thing there are no men like that here now. They hurt too many people.”

Kathleen, listening and amused at John’s thoughts of protection, chimed in, “Yes, John, even though that particular story is pretend, events like that happened all too many times in feudal Japan many years ago. And it is true that the character Tom Cruise played was, at first, not the best of men. I’m glad he learned how to become a better person.”

Nikki, listening to all of this, finally blurted in, “Yeah, but he was totally hot, wasn’t he?” She couldn’t care less whether Tom Cruise was good, bad or something in between, as long as he was always that sexy!

Jane laughed at Nikki and rumpled her hair. “Yeah, Nik, any way we can get him, right?”

“Damn straight!” Nikki shot back at her and then leaned over to whisper to Mallory, who was looking pretty strangely at John. “Remember, I told you, he grew up somewhere else and never saw a movie before,” she whispered.

“Oh, yeah,” Mallory whispered back. “I forgot.” And she promptly giggled.

Jane, hearing their whispers and giggles, smiled again. Leave it up to Nikki to simplify an explanation about John to her friend. Life with both John and Nikki around was so interesting.

“Well,” Kathleen said suddenly, “what should we do now? Anyone for pizza?” she added, looking at the two girls.

“Yeah!” they both said, and excitedly started talking about the best pizza place to go to.

“How about you, Jane, John; do you feel like some pizza?” she asked.

John, still thinking about Jane’s casual comment about Tom Cruise, just looked at Kathleen and nodded. He didn’t like Jane thinking about getting Tom Cruise.

Jane nodded, also, and seeing the funny look on John’s face, took his hand. “Sure, let the girls decide where, Kathleen.” Kathleen turned to Nikki and Mallory and the three of them got in a discussion about pizza places.

Jane looked over at John, who was frowning slightly at her. “John, what’s wrong? You look worried or something.”

Putting his hand up to Jane’s face and lightly stroking her face and hair, he finally answered. “I don’t think I want you to get Tom Cruise, Jane. He is not right for you.”

“What?” Jane barked out, trying not to laugh, but not being quite able to help herself. “What are you talking about, John? I don’t know Tom Cruise; he’s a big movie star who lives in LA.”

Looking at her carefully, John answered, “You said ‘any way you can get him’ to Nikki.”

Smiling hugely, trying not to laugh, Jane finally found the words. “Oh John, that’s just an expression! I mean, I admire him and like watching him move, but he doesn’t even know I exist, so don’t worry.” Jane stroked his face with love shining from her eyes. “Besides, he doesn’t even compare to you,” she added, and then gently kissed his lips. “Okay?” she added as she looked up at him.

“Okay,” he responded, wondering if he could sneak in a kiss of his own, and starting to lean towards her.

“Hey you two, quit smooching and come on! We’re hungry,” Nikki yelled at them. She, Mallory and Kathleen had finally decided on a place to go and time was wasting.

Jane, reluctantly pulling her eyes from John’s gleaming ones, looked over at the three women and answered, “All right, all right, hold your panties on!” She looked back at John. “Let’s go get some pizza, okay?”

“Okay,” John answered, taking Jane’s hand in his. As they walked towards the pizza place, John kept watching the streets. There may not be samurai around, but the streets of New York were still dangerous, and all the women he cared for were with him now. So, he’d continue watching. And maybe, when they were in a safer place, he’d be able to kiss Jane again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the pizza place, the women were all chatting back and forth across the table, munching on garlic bread while John kept warily looking around, making sure everything was all right. He was surrounded by four good-looking women and many of the other men in the place resented him and weren’t too subtle in showing it. This, of course, brought out the protective instincts in John full force, and so he stayed alert. He’d seen plenty of times when a male of his tribe had gone berserk over a female he wanted and he didn’t want that happening here.

When the pizza finally came, he ate some, but he didn’t enjoy it like the women did. Mallory and Nikki were laughing and flirting with some young men at the table next to theirs, while Jane and Kathleen watched and smiled indulgently. John’s face got more and more grim as he kept suspiciously watching different pockets of men as discreetly as possible. Finally he could stand it no longer. Leaning over to Jane, he said, “You should tell Nikki and Mallory they shouldn’t do that.”

Looking perplexed, Jane asked, “Do what? Flirting? What’s the harm in a little simple flirting? You like to do it with me,” and she smiled at him, hoping to lighten his mood.

“We are surrounded by many jealous males who might not like Nikki and her friend’s choices. Look around and see,” and he gestured around the room.

Jane guardedly looked around the room and noticed frowns on many men’s faces, especially a group of creepy-looking guys across the room who seemed to stare holes through her clothes. Shuddering slightly, but not enough to be noticeable very far away, Jane leaned over to Kathleen and quietly said, “Um, Kathleen? We might have a dangerous situation here. John noticed that some of the men in this place seem to be without dates and they’re putting out bad vibes. Maybe we should gather up the youngsters and get the heck out of here.”

Kathleen, scanning the room quickly, decided that Jane and John were right. “You might just be right. Let’s finish this pizza quickly and get out of here. I’ll call my limo, just in case any of those weird guys over in the corner get any bad ideas.” She gestured with her head at the same group of guys Jane had noticed. Getting her cell phone out of her purse, she called her limo to come get them. “They’ll be about ten minutes,” she told Jane and John. “Let’s hope nothing happens in the meantime.”

John nodded and continued to keep watch. Jane leaned over to Nikki and whispered something in her ear. At first Nikki looked annoyed, then startled, then nervous. Once Jane got done talking to her, she leaned over to Mallory, who had been laughing and talking with a really cute guy she knew from college. Mallory stopped talking finally at Nikki’s urgent whisper, and after listening briefly, she blurted out, “You’ve got to be kidding!” Nikki shook her head and whispered some more. Mallory finally settled down and listened, while the guys at the next table dug into the pizza that had just been delivered to their table. Mallory and Nikki carefully looked around the room at the other tables and noticed a few frowns here and there, and then a few leers coming from the nasty group in the corner.

“Whew, that group in the corner gives me the creeps,” Nikki said quietly to Jane. “You might be right – we should get outta here. What do you think, Mal?”

“Yeah, I’m starting to get really creeped out,” Mallory added. She quietly talked to the guy at the next table she knew and made arrangements for Nikki and her to meet him and his friend the next day.

The waiter came to the table with the bill, which Kathleen quickly snatched and paid. Protesting, Jane said, “Hey, wait a minute. We need to contribute, too!”

Kathleen looked at her and said, “Let’s discuss it in the limo. It should be here by now,” and she looked over to the door. Sure enough, there was her driver, lingering at the door, waiting for her to notice him. “There’s our ride. Let’s get out of here!” and she got up slowly, not wanting to look like she was rushing away.

Nikki and Mallory said a few last words to the guys they knew and followed Kathleen. Jane stood up, keeping an eye on John, who had also risen. He was staying alert, and keeping his back to the women, making sure the males in the room knew he saw them. Jane lightly grasped his arm and tried to pull him towards the door Kathleen and the girls were just exiting through. Just as she thought they were going to get out of the place without problems, the guys at the table in the corner got up and started coming towards them.

John stopped and faced the men coming towards him. Jane was behind and to his right, getting ready for trouble. Putting her hand on his shoulder and talking quietly to John, she tried to persuade him to just back out of the restaurant with her. “John, if we leave quickly and quietly, I’m sure we can avoid major trouble.”

“No. These men mean to hurt us. I can tell.” John said quietly, just enough for Jane to hear. His stance became loose and ready as he prepared to move quickly.

“John, let’s at least take the fight outside if we have to have one. That way we won’t break the furniture, and the rest of the men won’t decide to join in. You’ve got to admit, there’s quite a few men in this place. If we draw this one group outside, then the odds are more on our side.” Jane was saying anything she could think of to get John out the door.

Thinking, John finally acknowledged the sense in her suggestion. “All right, but I will take care of them once we get outside. You get in the car,” John said, assuming Jane would listen to him.

Just wanting John outside the restaurant, Jane let his comments slide. She was the cop and she sure as hell wasn’t going to let John get beat to a pulp, no matter what he wanted. But it was to their advantage to be outside.

Keeping Jane at his back, they edged their way out of the door. John wanted to get Jane out of the door before the men reached him. “Get in the car with the others,” he ordered.

“No way, John. This is my city and my job, not yours. We either go together, or we stay here together,” Jane said, as the first man pushed open the door.

“Jane, John, get in the limo, NOW!” Kathleen yelled, with the door open. Jane didn’t even bother to turn around. She just yelled at Kathleen, “Call the cops!”

But it was too late. As the men came out the door and saw their quarry getting close to the open limo door, one big guy couldn’t stand it any longer. He bellowed and ran at John. John smiled, crouched and leapt toward him. Jane screamed, “John!” just as the two met with a crunch.

A rat-like character circled around the battling men, coming quickly towards Jane. Noticing him out of the corner of her eye, Jane prepared herself. “Hey Chiquita,” the ratty man hissed, “come and play with me and my compadres, and bring your pretty friends with you.”

Jane quietly stated what was necessary, hoping not to antagonize him. “I’m a cop and my friend in the limo has already called for backup, so you and your guys had better just get the hell out of here.” Jane hoped Kathleen had been smart and done as she asked.

Jane snuck a quick peek at John and noted that he was doing fine. In fact, John was beating the hell out of his attacker - and enjoying it thoroughly. Unfortunately for Jane, the ratty-faced man had noticed this, too, and decided his quarry was going to get away if he didn’t do something quickly. Flicking out a switchblade, he advanced on Jane. “Okay, bitch,” he sneered back at her, “you come with me now, or you won’t go nowhere again.” Saying something else over his back to his men in rapid Spanish, he kept moving towards her.

Experienced enough to know she was in trouble, Jane prepared for hand-to-hand combat. She’d left her gun at home because she normally didn’t take it with her when she went to the movies. Getting into a combat stance, Jane waited for the man to make his move and hoped to God she’d be able to counter it.

What neither Jane or her attacker realized was that even though John was fighting with someone else, he’d been keeping aware of Jane’s situation, because after all, she was his reason for living. He’d noticed the small man working his way around to her, and as soon as he flicked out his switchblade, John knew he had to finish his man quickly. With a lightning-quick movement, John broke the big man’s arm and then threw him into the side of the building. The big guy just laid there, out cold.

Quick as a striking snake, John whirled and leapt on the smaller man, knocking the knife out of his hand. While Nikki and Mallory stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed out the limo windows, John pinned the man against the side of the limo with his hand around the man’s throat. Growling deeply first just to put more fear into the man, John finally spoke in a low voice to the man. “She is mine. Take your men and get out of here, or you will die.”

Never having heard a man growl so much like a beast, and having only seen a man strike so quickly on the movie screen, the terrified man tried to nod his head. Unable to speak or breathe, the man’s eyes were getting even more panicky as he realized he could die. He tried futilely to pull the steel fingers from his throat while gesturing at his men to back off. Fortunately his men noticed and stopped where they were, just as the police sirens sounded in the distance.

Jane stepped up to John and quietly said, “John, I think he’s agreeing.” She recognized the signs of a man suffocating.

John waited a minute longer and then abruptly let go of the man, who slid down the side of the limo, gasping for air. “Get your men and get out of here,” John said to the man as he stepped between Jane and the rest of the angry men. Croaking out an order in Spanish, the leader slowly got up off the ground and backed away from John. “You will regret this, hombre,” he said. “We will meet again.” And with that final statement, the group of men left, half-dragging and half-carrying their injured fellow.

Jane let out a huge breath of air and sagged against the limo. “John, I appreciate your protectiveness, but sometimes it can get us into trouble quicker than you know.”

John just shrugged and smiled at her. He thought it had been fun. As Kathleen opened the limo door and got out, he thought that the only thing that would make the night better would be if he got a chance to kiss Jane.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You what?” Sam screeched, following Jane into the station the next morning. “Partner, don’t you know better than to go into that place on a weekend? You’re lucky you and the others got out of there with all their parts! That gang sounds like the Tarantulas – a hella’ nasty Hispanic gang who eat women for breakfast!” Sam’s eyes were very wide, with the whites showing. “Don’t you remember Connor briefing us on this gang a few weeks back? They are suspected of kidnapping and killing a couple of working girls over near there.” Sam was really on a roll and Jane just let him vent. “What made you pick that place to go eat anyway?”

Jane stopped, turned and faced him. “No, Sam, I don’t remember the Lieutenant’s briefing us on this gang – do you think I’d risk Nikki and her friend? Or John and Kathleen? I’m not that stupid. And we went there because we’ve had pizza there before and it’s always been great. How long has this gang been a problem in the area?” Jane looked at Sam and her face showed her concern. “Maybe I was gone when Connor gave that briefing; was that close to when Michael was killed?”

Sam looked at her and thought carefully. “Yeah, it might have been. I don’t remember exactly. But jeez, gal, didn’t your cop radar go off when you saw them?” Jane usually had really good instincts about bad guys and Sam knew it.

Coming up to their desks, Jane whirled around again and confronted Sam. “Yeah, but the gang came in after we’d already ordered. I knew there was something wrong there, but I was hoping there wouldn’t be any trouble, and I kept my eye on them. Believe me, if I’d known about that gang, I would have steered us clear of that place, Sam.” Jane sat down at her desk and looked up at Sam.

Sam looked down at Jane for a few seconds. “Yeah, I guess. Good thing monkey-boy’s trouble radar works well, huh?”

Jane glared at Sam. “Don’t call him monkey-boy, and I suppose. Although things might not have been quite such a problem if John hadn’t wanted to fight.” Blowing out a loud breath, Jane stared at Sam, who’d sat down at his desk. “Then again, if he hadn’t alerted me to the problem, we might not have made it out of there without a worse fight. And one of us might have gotten hurt. As it is, the gang now has a vendetta against John, which is bad, because knowing John he won’t let it go, if they find him.” In fact, Jane thought John would probably enjoy hunting down and tormenting the gang, which was a big problem for her – trying to keep him out of trouble was sometimes a full-time job. She could only hope Kathleen would keep him very busy.

Sam looked over at Jane once more before starting in on the pile on his desk. “Well, Partner, John has good instincts, but sometimes he can be a real pain in the ass. You just try to make him understand to stay away from that gang, okay? I really don’t want to come bust up a fight between him and Tarantulas – and neither do you, right?”

Jane looked at him and snorted. “Right. Unfortunately, trying to explain stuff like this to John doesn’t always work. He sees things either black and white, and doesn’t understand the shades of grey we have to live with.” Sighing, Jane looked at her own pile of work. It was going to be a long day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While Sam and Jane were arguing, John was sitting wide-eyed in front of his new tutor, reciting the alphabet. Very intelligent and a quick study, John was already making huge leaps in learning, helped by the fact that he had actually learned how to read when he was only four. He’d always been a precocious child, and when he went to Kindergarten, had been put in a class made up of mostly 1st graders, and a few very smart kindergarteners who, like him, already knew the fundamentals of reading. And in 1st grade, he had excelled at all his subjects, and showed a definite love of learning. So now it was just a matter of reawakening the knowledge locked inside of his mind. Once the knowledge was unlocked, the tutor and Kathleen were both sure he would learn at a very rapid rate.

Mrs. Scott, the 65 year-old ex-teacher who tutored only a couple of students privately now in order to augment her pension, was very happy with John’s grasp of the alphabet and his extraordinary ability to remember what he had learned. He had quickly recognized the alphabet and by noon was already starting to read simple words like cat, dog, run, and see. In fact, he was so eager to learn that Mrs. Scott was startled when Mary came in and announced it was time for lunch. “Already?” Mrs. Scott asked. “Goodness, those last three hours flew quickly, didn’t they, John?”

Looking up from the child’s primer he had been reading from, John looked at his teacher. “Yes. Can we keep reading after lunch Mrs. Scott?”

“Of course we can dear boy, of course,” Mrs. Scott replied, smiling hugely. “We’ll have you reading whole sentences in no time, my boy, in no time. Now, let’s go eat and replenish that agile mind of yours so you can continue learning.”

Mary led the way as Mrs. Scott and John followed her to the kitchen, where a scrumptious lunch was set out. “My goodness,” Mrs. Scott said when she saw the luncheon, “this looks like quite a feast! I shall have to watch myself or I’ll get fat.” Smiling at John, she took a seat at the table.

John, looking at her as he sat down, decided she was joking. This wonderful teacher of his, which he had liked instantly, was only about five feet tall and couldn’t weigh more than 90 pounds dripping wet. She reminded him of a delicate little bird. He was very fascinated with her white hair because no one else of his acquaintance had white hair. He had touched it when they first met, wondering at the soft feel of it. Luckily, Mrs. Scott was not a skittish type of person, and once John had gotten over her hair color, they’d gotten right to work.

Mrs. Scott took good care of herself because she had no one else to rely on, since her husband had died two years ago. Her children lived two hours away – one in upper state New York and the other in lower New Jersey. They were concerned with her safety, but she refused to leave the Manhattan neighborhood she had lived in with her husband for 45 years. Her brother and his wife were four years older than she was, and lived in Brooklyn. Neither was in as good health as she was, but she loved them dearly and visited them once a month. Luckily, it was only a short cab ride to the Clayton mansion, which was easily affordable twice a day due to the generous salary Kathleen Clayton was paying her. And now she could also take a cab to see her brother, which meant she wouldn’t have to risk the subway regularly. This teaching job was going to be very good for her financially.

As they ate lunch together, Mrs. Scott asked John several questions about his jungle life and what he had learned there. Kathleen had told Mrs. Scott his story when she hired her, having also taken a great liking to the little woman. She knew Mrs. Scott would be good for John. However, Mrs. Scott knew that life-changing events like the crash in the jungle and the subsequent 20 years of a very hard existence must have had an effect on John, and so she wanted to know how he had survived, what he had learned in the jungle, and what else here in New York interested him. She was very surprised to find out how much common sense he had, and that he had already found a woman he loved.

John was very forthcoming with her, instinctively trusting her. “Yes, I love Jane,” he was saying as he finished his dessert, “and she loves me, too, but is scared by it.” John had a smug smile on his face.

“She’s scared of it?” Mrs. Scott asked, unsure of exactly what he meant. “What do you mean, she’s scared of it?”

“Jane feels guilty because Michael died and so she’s not sure she should love me yet,” John answered simply. “But she does, so I must be patient and wait for her.”

“Always a good plan, dear boy,” she said and patted his hand. There was a story there, but she decided she’d better save questions about that for Kathleen. “Well, dear, it’s time to get back to learning, I think. Why don’t you lead the way?”

John smiled at her and said, “Okay,” and led her back to his old nursery, which had been converted to a learning environment more suitable for adult learners. There was a table and four chairs, a comfortable couch and recliner, shelves with books and supplies, a portable white board, a supply cabinet, and a large bulletin board. John’s family pictures and a few of his smaller toys had been placed on a lovely wooden shelf, along with his children’s books. The single bed, the larger toys such as the rocking horse and Tonka trucks, and the other furniture in the room had been removed to storage. It was now a very good room for learning and yet still had a warm family feel about it, with John’s pictures and favorite childhood books in it. Kathleen wanted John to feel comfortable as he learned and knew that sometimes old friends, like Curious George and Winnie the Pooh were best when facing new situations like learning. Even when John outgrew his childhood books and learned to read harder books, he would still like his old friends around him.

“Okay, John, now that you remember the alphabet and a few simple words, I’d like to start you on writing. Do you remember how to hold a pencil?” Mrs. Scott gave John a pencil, which he promptly held like a dagger, in his closed fist. Sighing, she knew that if reading might come easy, writing would be much harder, because of how his hands had learned to hold the tools he’d had to use for the last 20 years. “Okay, John, let’s start over. Here’s how you must hold the pencil in order to write…” and she showed him the proper way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~