The Conner Family Ch. 06

"The Photo - In Retrospect"

The Conner Family Stories:

01-"A Gift On Christmas Eve"

02-"Gifts On Christmas Morning"

03-"Nightmares Of A Broken Promise"

04-"The Request"

05-"Love Across Town"

06-"The Photo - In Retrospect" - current

This story is part of 'The Conner Family' Series and takes place three months after Jennifer Conner's accident and three months before Chapter One of the series - "A Gift On Christmas Eve." - Rugrat60

*****

Kenneth Robert Conner sat quietly in the office in the home of his mother. The home he had grown up in. The home he had returned to after his divorce. He sat quietly watching the progress of the synchronization of his laptop to his larger, more powerful home computer and to the servers down in the basement.

He knew he did not have to watch the computers work, he had run the program nearly every day when he was home and usually just walked away for lunch, or head out and run errands, or during the summer go jump into the pool. Knowing that the program could take care of itself.

But he had been in Florida. He was there not on vacation, but there taking care of his cousin Jennifer, his life long best friend, for the past three months after her accident. The accident which occurred when her fighter jet ran into a flock of birds during take off and her engines failed over the crowded Naval Base.

He quickly shifted his thoughts away from thinking about the results of her fighter jet going into the ground and Jennifer's life threatening injuries when she avoided the crowed areas around the base. And her ejecting seconds before the fighter crashed into the ground and exploded. Thus keeping those on the ground from harm.

And now today, this was his first full day back home, after spending the time with Jen in Florida. Helping her to get through those hard, slow months of her recovery. Taking care of all her needs.

He glanced at the computer monitor. It would take quite sometime today for the backup to run as he had started two new projects while in Florida.

He took a deep breath and slowly sighed and let his eyes drift about his father's old study. He remembered the many times he would come in to ask his Dad a question on his homework or some school project or something else. No matter what his father was working on, he always had time for him. And for his sisters, he remembered.

He slowly turned his father's high backed, office chair away from the desk and let his eyes drift slowly about the office. He still referred to it as 'the office' or 'Dad's Office,' but never his office. The other chair sat near the window. He and his sisters would take that chair when their father 'held council' on their behavior, or 'conversed' over their questions.

He had quickly realized that today was going to be a complete waste of time doing any real work. His mind was running on empty and the usual inner chatter on programming issues running through his mind were gone. His mind was blank. He felt empty and numb. So very much empty.

Empty except for one thing. Jennifer. She was there, in his thoughts, all the time. And had been ever since he got the call about her accident.

He looked at the second chair again and smiled. His father had never raised his voice in anger. Only once had he stood in here with the door closed as a teenager, facing his parents who sat in both chairs. He had been suspended from school for five days when he put down five members of the high school football team for picking on his cousin Jen. Also suspended were Jen and her brother Brian for their part in that rather one sided fight. Considering the three of them had been taking Karate lessons for years.

'Tell me what happened,' said his father. And Ken did. He remembered his father had snorted as his mother had giggled. Then his father had jerked his thumb at the door. And told him to 'Go write it up. I want it on my desk in the morning.'

Ken continued to turn, letting his mind and eyes drift about. Then his eyes stopped, looking at the opposite wall, at the eight by ten framed picture of his cousin Jennifer.

It was a four year old picture. She was standing in her Navy flight suit on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Enterprise. It was, he remembered, a photo she had someone take just for him. In the photo she stood beside her jet fighter with a big smile and with her double handed forefinger and thumb 'v' shaped salute with her hands by her face. It was the one hand gesture she only gave to him when everything was okay. And for Jen that meant life was perfect.

Ken closed his eyes as he took a deep shuddering breath.

But everything was not okay. Nothing was perfect. And it would never be again. Every thing had changed.

"Oh, Jen," he softly whispered, looking up at the picture as he blew out his breath, feeling his eyes stinging and then tears began to run down his cheeks. "Jen. I'm so sorry."

"Ken?" came the soft voice of his mother.

Ken turned to look up at his mother standing in the doorway.

He quickly wiped at his eyes.

Sharon sighed. Then she stepped into the room and wrapped an arm about his shoulder. "Men and their tears! I'll never understand." She kissed the top of his head. "It is okay to cry you know."

"I almost lost her, Mom."

"Ken," said Sharon softly as she knelt down in front of the chair, looking up at him, "listen to me, Sweetheart. You did not almost loose her. You got there just in time. At the right moment to rescue her." She took a deep breath and sighed. "Your Aunt Karen called that first day, after they saw Jen and you. She told me that the Doctors only gave Jen a ten percent chance of surviving her injuries." Sharon nodded. "Yes, Jen was that badly hurt. But, after you got there, Jen started to stabilize. Like it or not, kido, you were Jen's life line. You held on to her until she could hold her own."

She reached up and tussled his hair. "Then you stayed with her and helped Jennifer through those hard months of her recovery."

Ken looked up at her. Tears still ran down his cheeks.

She placed a box of tissues on his lap.

Sharon nodded at him. Then she reached and took his hands and held them. "We are all very proud of you for stepping up the way you did. And we all knew how hard it must have been. Seeing Jennifer like that. Knowing what she had to endure."

"But," stated Ken, "the doctor told me what was wrong with Jen."

"And I don't give a hoot what the doctors say either," stated Sharon. "Remember, Karen and I are nurses and we worked with them yahoos for a bit. Bunch of airhead know-it-alls." She pointed at Ken. "Doctors only think of the body." She touched Ken's forehead and then the center of his chest. "They don't know diddly about what the heart and mind can do."

Ken took a deep breath and let it out.

"And they certainly had no clue about you two," she added.

Ken just nodded.

"By you being there for Jennifer, she had the strength to endure what most likely would have taken her. You were there. You were her strength. With you there, she wanted to live."

Sharon touched the box of tissues on his lap. "Now blow your nose and wipe your eyes." She touched her nose. "Then give a sniff see what I cooked you for lunch." She got to her feet.

"Mom."

"Yes, Sweetheart?"

"Can I take a picture from the wall and put it in here?" asked Ken.

Sharon smiled. "Course you can." She turned to go then looked back and pointed at him. "Hey, blow your nose, kido. And guess what's for lunch."

Ken blew his nose and wiped his eyes.

He held out the box to her.

"Keep it, Ken," said Sharon. "In case ya need to blow yer nose again, or maybe powder that nose of yours." She gave him a slight smile. "Besides, got another box on the kitchen table for my own waterworks." She tilted her head looking at him. "Well?"

Ken sniffed. He looked up at his Mom giving her a little smile. "Kielbasa ... and sour kraut?"

"Yep!" she nodded. "And a six pack of that German beer you like." Sharon looked at him. Then she nodded her head towards the hallway. "Lets go get the picture."

Ken rose and followed his mother into the living room. The far wall was taken up by the fireplace with bookshelves on either side. Above the fireplace was a large water color painting of an old New England barn in winter with a stonewall and bare trees. The wall opposite the window was full of pictures above the sofa. All eight by tens in similar black frames. The pictures wrapped around to the wall opposite the fireplace.

Sharon gestured at the wall. "Which one?"

Ken went to stand by the front door. He searched, then backed up scanning the entire wall.

"I've been swapping some out," stated Sharon. "Needed room for a couple of the grand kids. Which one are you looking for?"

"It was over by the door," stated Ken. He turned to Sharon. "Jen and me with the bonfire. Back when we were 17."

Sharon gave him a big smile. She held up her finger and went to the end of the couch. She lifted up a box and placed it on the sofa. She dug out a picture frame. Sharon held it out towards him. "This it?"

Ken took the frame and looked at the twenty-five year old color photo. With the orange and yellow flames in the foreground and Kenneth sitting there with his arm around Jennifer who was resting against Ken. Both were laughing. He looked up at Sharon with a smile. "Mom, this is it!"

Sharon then held out a medium sized brown box. "You can send that copy down to Jen. Already framed, packed and addressed."

He took the box. "Its from me!"

Sharon shook head. "You can be such a goof at times. Course it's from you. You are paying the postage."

"Thanks." Ken looked at the picture he held. "She'll like it."

"Good," stated Sharon. "Lunch first, then I'll drive you to the Post Office. Then shopping."

"Shopping?"

"Shopping," she repeated. "We are having movie night Saturday. With the required sleep over."

"Here?"

Sharon gave him a silly smirk. "No! Across the street at the Moors!"

Ken looked at her confused. "What?"

Sharon laughed. "We just have not told them yet!"

Ken shook his head. "A guy leaves town for a couple of days."

Sharon took his arm and led him towards the kitchen. "A bit has changed since you went to Florida." Sharon looked at the time. "When your phone rings, put it on speaker."

"What?" asked Ken looking at the clock. It was two pm sharp.

"Call from ... Jen," stated the phone in his pocket. Then it began to ring.

Ken put the pictures on the table and got the phone out of his pocket on the third ring. "Jen! Wait - going to speaker."

Jen's voice drifted up from the phone. "Thought I should call and make sure you did not get lost going home."

"I made it." He paused glancing at his Mom. "But it does not feel like home."

Sharon just smiled.

"Yeah. I know, Ken. Guess what?" asked Jen.

"You stubbed your toe and are back in casts?"

There was a laugh on the phone. "Yeah! Right. No! I got my left arm back this morning."

"No casts?" asked Ken.

"No casts," stated Jen.

Ken sat down at the kitchen table. There was a slight smile on his lips. "Good to hear, Jen."

"Can I call you later?"

"Always, Jen."

Jen said, "Mom made me Kielbasa and sour kraut for lunch."

Ken looked up at his Mom. She just smirked as she started putting lunch together.

"Same here, Jen."

"Ha! Moms," stated Jed with an uplift to her voice. "I'll call about nine, okay?"

Ken looked at the picture of Jen and him at the bonfire. "Nine is fine."

"Okay. Bye, Ken."

"Bye."

Then the call ended.

Ken closed the phone and set it on the table as his Mom set a plate of Kielbasa and sour kraut before him.

"You and Aunt Karen." He shook his head. "Good planning."

"Conner Plan eight twenty seven," stated Sharon placing her plate on the table and then returned to hand Ken a bottle of beer. For herself there was a mug of tea by her plate. "One with lunch."

She sat down and looked at him. "Saturday, if you don't mind," stated Sharon, "you can bunk in with me."

"What for?"

"James is home on leave," replied Sharon. "Only way I could convince he and Emma and the twins to come over was to give them a room so they have time together."

"Not a problem." Ken chuckled. "For them, I'd sleep outside. I've not seen James for what, two years?"

Sharon nodded. "Yeah, he's been deployed a lot." She pointed at his plate. "Eat up, we got shopping to do. And remind me to get extra coffee ice cream for James."

Ken looked down at his plate, thinking of Jen.

Sharon spoke up. "Better finish eating before Jen gets done before you."

Ken laughed at the image he had of both Jen and he trying to out do the other when eating. He picked up his fork.

The End.