The Pearl of the of Sea

Chapter 17

A few days later Tom is at Godfrey Lake by himself looking at the ducks and swans as they swim around in the water. It's a cloudy day and a few raindrops are falling onto Tom's face. The lake has a dirt walkway that runs through the middle and is surrounded by trees. He looks over to the side and sees Annemarie ride by on her bike, "Annemarie, what are you doing here?"

She sees Tom, so she parks her bike next to him, "I come here nearly every day, it's nice and quiet here."

"I used to come here with my grandpa a lot when I was a kid. I came here today to get away from my dad and sister."

"Oh, well, why weren't you or your sister in school today?"

"My dad was really sick today and Neenah refuses to take the bus, so he let me stay home and Neenah skipped school and hung out with Bruce."

"I guess Neenah's causing trouble again."

Tom shakes his head, "Yeah, she is and he says that she's causing him chest pains." Tom then grabs Annemarie's hand, "You know, I'm really sorry about what I did to you last year."

Annemarie shakes her head and smiles, "No, no you don't have to be." She then lets go of his hand, "I mean I was mean too."

"No, you were mean, because you were defending yourself. I was the jerk, I was the one who called you a crazy bitch every day." He then puts his face in his hands, "I just listened to what everyone else was saying about you, instead of getting to know you myself." Tom gets teary-eyed, "I mean I was selfish and only dated popular, hot girls like Angela Leonardo, but now I realize this whole time I should have just dated nice, kind-hearted girls like you."

Annemarie then gets teary-eyed and hugs him, "Oh, that's the nicest thing any guy has ever said to me!"

Tom then places his chin on her shoulder and rubs her back. He then stops hugging her and grabs her head and stares into her blue eyes, "You're so beautiful, I don't care what other people say." He then closes his eyes and rubs his nose against her nose, "I love you, Annemarie." He then presses his lips against her lips and kisses her tenderly.

Annemarie then stops kissing Tom and rubs his cheek, "I love you too, Tom."

"You know the homecoming dance is coming up and I was wondering if you like to go with me."

Annemarie nods her head, "Sure I love to go with you!"

Tom then backs up and looks down at his wheelchair, "I just wish I had my old wheelchair."

Annemarie looks down, "Yeah, I should of never open my mouth when that little brat started screaming. I mean it's not like I hate kids, I just can't stand the noise they make."

Tom then lifts up her head, "Hey, don't feel bad it was bothering me too. Like you, Jeff has Aspergers and so does his mom, they all hate noise." Tom smiles, "I mean one time I was with Jeff in the store and there was a dude with a really hot girl and he decided to tell the dude that the girl was really hot." Tom then laughs, "Turns out that hot girl he was with, happen to be his daughter and you can bet Jeff and I had to run like hell because he was about to kick our asses." Tom then grabs Annemarie's hand, "So, you see, I'm willing to stand by my friends even through the worst of times, because true friends always stick together." Tom then let's go and looks at the lake, "But when I got engaged to Angela, I stopped being friends with Jeff, and then when she dumped me we became friends again. All because she didn't like him, I dumped our friendship for a girl who really didn't love me."

Annemarie puts her hand on his shoulder, "Well, Angela's a real bitch, she only cares about herself."

Tom pulls Annemarie's hand off of him and rolls away from her, "I did too." Tom then turns around, "I think that's why I was put in a wheelchair and lost my mansion. God was punishing me."

Annemarie strokes Tom's cheek, "I don't think God was punishing you, maybe he did this because he didn't want you to marry Angela." She then holds his hand, "I mean you could of married her and had kids, then lost your money and your ability to walk. She would have left you to raise your children by yourself as your mom did to your dad."

Tom then holds her hand tighter and puts it up to his chest, "Annemarie, be honest, would you have my babies?"

Annemarie rips her hand back, "No, I don't want kids!"

"Not even if they were mine?"

"I really don't want to be a mother, too much work and I hate crying babies. I also don't want stretch marks and a sagging stomach."

"Oh, well I was just wondering. I mean now that I see how my dad struggles with Neenah and my handicap, I'm not sure if I even want kids anymore." Tom looks down, "Plus since I'm paralyzed from the waist down, I'm not sure if I can even have children."

Annemarie hugs Tom, "I'm so happy you decided you didn't want kids, now we can be childfree together!"

Tom rubs her back, "I would like to have kids someday, but if my wife doesn't want them, then that's fine with me."

Annemarie stops hugging him and holds his hands, "You want to get married? I mean we haven't even been dating a year yet and I just turned 18 not too long ago, my mom says I should be at least 25 before I get married."

Tom smiles, "No, of course, I'm not asking for marriage, I mean I like to get married someday. I really like you, but like you said we have to date more."

Annemarie smiles back, "Alright, well anyway, you know they started nominating the homecoming kings and queens. I put my name three times as queen and you three times as king. Jeff put himself three times as king and queen."

Tom laughs, "Yeah, Jeff would do that. It's sad because he said he wanted to win homecoming king so Vanessa will go out with him."

"Yeah, Neenah told me that she hates Vanessa."

"Neenah hates everyone."

Annemarie looks at her cell phone, "My dad just texted me saying he wants me home, I'll see you later." She kisses Tom and rides away on her bike.