Quantum Leap: Too Close for Comfort by Ashley McConnell

Author:Ashley McConnell [McConnell, Ashley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction
Publisher: Ace Books
Published: 1993-01-14T13:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The first man stuck his head in the door, looked around the empty room with an “I’m not sure I’m where I’m supposed to be” look on his face. Seeing no one else around, but with the familiar large drum up on the podium, he sidled in along the wall and stood uncertainly, a gym bag in his hand.

Five minutes later two more men came in, and the first man, seeing the door open to admit them, immediately unzipped the bag and stuck his hand inside as if he had just arrived himself.

By the time Sam arrived with Stephen Wales, the entire group had arrived. Including, Sam was amused to see, Al Calavicci, who was standing in the middle of a circle of men playing one-up games about hot dates. Calavicci caught the smile in his eye and waved him over.

“Yeah, kid, you ever dated a redhead?” somebody asked. “You know what they say about redheads… .”

“My sister’s a redhead,” Sam said with a straight face. “Ooops,” Al muttered, turning a bit scarlet about the ears.

Sam smothered a chuckle. He had no idea if Ross’s sisters were redheads, blondes, brunettes, or bald. But he seemed to remember that one summer Katie Beckett had experimented with henna. The veggie-head summer, as he recalled it.

Wales was standing in front of the podium, calling the group to order. Al hung back with Sam as the rest of the men trailed over. “Hey,” he said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—” “That’s okay,” Sam said cheerfully, “you never do. You’ll learn one day.” He walked off, leaving the shorter man staring after him, thoroughly confused.

Wales arranged the men in a rough circle. Gradually the muttering quieted down, and they stood attentively, their eyes on him. Al slipped in among them, standing beside Sam. Stephen Wales was standing a little taller. “We are men,” he intoned.

The men standing around him avoided glancing at each other.

“We are men,” he repeated. “We are men who have been abandoned by the world we built. The world jokes about us, the world says it no longer needs us, the world legislates against us. But we are met here today to remind ourselves that we are still men.” The poor guy, Sam thought. “We are wise. We are important. We are special.”

The circle of men moved uneasily.

“We are special,” Wales repeated. “Lyle Walker, tell me who you are.”

The man standing three from Al’s right jerked, startled. But he’d heard the question before, and he knew the expected answer.

“I’m a man,” he said. “My name is Lyle, son of John. I’m a man.”

“Tell me what you’ve done.”

“I’ve … I’ve gone to school. I’ve held three good jobs. I’ve fathered four kids.”

“How does this make you feel?”

“Proud. Happy.” Lyle smiled suddenly, as if he had just realized that he really was proud and happy.

Wales smiled back at him, and went on. “Mike Diaz, tell me who you are.”

“I’m a man,” said a heavyset Hispanic to Sam’s left. He, too, was familiar with this litany.

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