«But starting a band with someone my age doesn't fit into your plans," Valenti finished the thought for him, hoping to save the boy from the embarrassment of having to say it to him.
«That's not it.» Mickey sat on the ratty old couch that
his parents had thrown into the garage for him and his friends. An unnoticed plume of dust rose from the cushion. «The whole band thing isn't really in our plans. You see, Alex was really the driving force behind The Whits.»
«I know.» Valenti thought about Alex. «It was the one part of his life where he really came out of his shell.»
«And without him, there is no band," Mickey added. «When you came up to us at the memorial, we were all excited to have the chance to go on with the group, but-"
«It's not the same," he guessed.
«Not really," the teen admitted. «It has nothing to do with you. It's just that none of us is all that interested anymore. With senior year approaching and colleges to look at-"
«No, no, I understand. And I've got to tell you, Mickey, it takes a good man to know what he wants in life and not be afraid to say it.»
«Thanks, sir," Mickey replied, getting off the old couch.
«Please, knock off the sir stuff.»
«Okay… Jim.» He held out his hand for Valenti to shake. «Kyle's really lucky to have an understanding father like you.»
«Thanks.» Valenti beamed at the compliment. «But about Kyle… can you and the guys keep this whole band thing just between us? I think it would embarrass him to know that his dad's been hanging out with his classmates.»
«It'll be our secret.»
«See you around," Valenti said, grabbing his guitar and making his way out of the garage. As he walked down the drive, he nodded his good-bye to the other band members who were hanging out on the porch. They waved and
smiled in response. Roswell's got some good kids in it, he thought.
Back in his SUV, Valenti paused after placing the key in the ignition. Singing with the band had been the first recreational thing he had done in months, and he was going to miss it. It was nice to take a break from the responsibilities inherent in his more «alien» endeavors. He did understand where the kids were coming from, but that didn't necessarily mean that he couldn't continue with his plans.
Starting up the engine, Valenti's mind started working on an idea. He looked over to the passenger seat and saw the bags full of sheet music he had spent the morning collecting. It would be a shame to let all that music go to waste, he thought as he pulled away from the curb. And maybe it is time I started doing things with people my own age. I do tend to spend most of my time with friends who are young enough to be my children.
Valenti turned the idea over in his head for the rest of his drive home. Music had always been an important part of his life in the past. In fact, there had been a time while he was in high school when it was even more important to him than going into law enforcement. Now that he was no longer sheriff, he considered that it could be time again to give music another try. All he would need to do is gather up a band… and maybe come up with a really good name for the group.
Feeling more motivated than he had since losing his job, Valenti started putting together his plans. He thought of some guys he could get in contact with who he knew liked to play. He also thought of a few local bars that were
always looking to showcase new talent. All they would really need was a place to rehearse, preferably outside of his own home so that he wouldn't have to tell Kyle until he was sure it was going to work out. The rest of the ride, he continued to build on his ideas for the band that would eventually become known as the Kit-Shickers.
17
Liz shuffled through the magazines in the doctors outer office, lamenting the fact that everything had a published date of at least a year ago. She was looking for something to take her mind off her concerns for Jason as he was being examined in the other room. He has to be okay. It's just a little bruise. But she couldn't help think of the bigger wounds that they couldn't see.
She should have realized that the changes in Jason had been caused by something serious, since he had totally shut her out. It was one thing for him to break away from his parents, since that was traditionally part of the process of growing up, but for him to shut himself off from a close, trusted friend was a real sign of trouble.
Liz blamed herself. Her own world had turned so crazy since Max had saved her life that day in the Crashdown that it was understandable she might have missed the warning signs. She could have been around more, considering Artesia had gotten a lot closer once she had obtained her drivers license. But she knew that the real person to
blame was George Lyles, and she would certainly have the time to deal with that.
Frustrated, she dropped the copies of out-of-date Time and Newsweek magazines back into the rack and settled on an old copy of Highlights magazine for children. Turning to the puzzle section, she intended to test her mind with harmless, easy-to-solve riddles as opposed to the difficult games she seemed to be stuck with every day lately.
«This isn't the first bruise like this I've seen on you," Dr. Sellers said as he examined Jason's shoulder.
As usual, Jason said nothing, sitting on the examination table staring down at his feet. Max noticed that he had shut down once again as soon as they had reached Dr. Sellers's doorstep.
«I guess he's an active kid," Max offered, not quite sure how much to say right then.
They had been lucky enough to find Jason's family doctor at home that Saturday. The affable older man was kind enough to open the office attached to his home to give Jason the once-over. Liz and Max explained that he had fallen off his ATV after having gone on a little unsuper-vised joyride, assuming that it would be best not to raise questions about why the two teens had let him go out on his bike without his parents around.
«I'm sorry, how was it that you know Jason?» the doctor asked, genuinely concerned for the child's safety. Max gave the man extra points for being so obviously protective.
«He's my friend.» Jason offered the first kind words to Max since they had met yesterday speaking through his locked bedroom door.
«He and Liz grew up together," Max added, since Liz had decided to stay out in the waiting room to give Jason some privacy. «In Roswell.»
«Okay," the doctor said both to the explanation and to indicate he was done with the examination. «You can put your shirt back on. Everything looks fine to me, but I'll want you to come back with your mom on Monday so we can get some X rays just to be sure.»
Jason nodded his head.
«We'll make sure he comes back," Max added.
«Good," Dr. Sellers replied. «Jason, do you mind if I speak to Max for a moment?»
Jason looked to Max to see if it was okay.
«Why don't you go out and wait with Liz," Max said as the boy hopped down off the table. «I'm sure I'll only be a minute.»
«Okay," Jason said softly as he left the room.
Once the boy was out of earshot, the doctor turned to Max. «I don't know exactly how close you two are, but Jason seems to trust you.»
«I hope," Max said.
The doctor continued. «Jason hasn't really trusted anyone for a while now.»
Max was confused at just how closely the doctor knew his patient, and apparently his face showed his bewilderment.
«It's a small town," Sellers explained. «People come to me with their medical problems and they open up about other things too. His mom's a good woman.»
«She seems to be," Max agreed. «I know she and Liz are very close.»
«Like I said, I've noticed these bruises before," the doctor continued. «I never really put it together.»
«We're taking care of it," Max assured him. «Jason's opening up to us. We're going to talk to his mom.»
«I'm glad to hear that," the doctor said. «He's a good kid. You did the right thing bringing him here.»