FanStory.com - Saving Mr. Calvin - Chapter 40by Jim Wile

When we got home, Abby went upstairs to shower. E.J. also showered in the downstairs bathroom and changed into an extra set of clothes he had brought with him. He would be staying for dinner with us.

When she came down, I asked Abby, “Did you decide what you’re going to do about Dana and the suit while you were in the shower?”

“Yes. I’m going to call her up after dinner and demand it back. Then I’m going to go over to her house and get it.”

“What if she denies cheating or refuses to give it back?” Claire asked.

“I’ll cross that bridge if and when I come to it, but I bet it won’t come to that. I think I hear the pizza guy coming, so let’s forget about it for now and just enjoy our meal.”

We had a lively dinner, and we spent some time speculating on what might have happened to Dana if all her sweat had shorted out the suit while she was wearing it. Greg did a lively impersonation of her writhing and vibrating on the ground as the suit was electrocuting her. Claire said she would probably shrivel up into nothing and vanish in a puff of black smoke. We had a lot of fun with that.

Abby appeared not to be worried in the slightest about calling Dana up. She has come a long way from the once shy and timid girl she was when we met. I was very proud of her.

She set out for Dana’s house after she had called her. I offered to go with her, but she told me she could handle it herself. When she returned 45 minutes later, she had the suit in a bag. She said she would tell me how it went later, after we put the kids to bed.

By this time, it was around 9:00, and the kids were getting ready for bed. We went into Greg’s room first, and Abby told him she had gotten her suit back. He was very happy for her. We kissed him goodnight and went in to say goodnight to Claire, who was in her bed reading.

“Did you get it back, Mom? I was so worried she wouldn’t give it back.”

“I did, sweetie. I didn’t even have to confront her; she had left it hanging on the front door knob. I just took it and left.”

Claire breathed a sigh of relief and gave Abby a big hug. “I’m so happy you got it back. Does this mean I don’t have to put in the 36 hours now?”

We cracked up. “You’re not getting off that easy! Your infraction was that you failed to lock up an expensive piece of equipment, as you had been repeatedly warned to do. You’re still guilty of that. You won’t have to work on the suit now, but Dad and I will find something else you can help us with. Nice try, though.”

She smiled impishly. “I guess that’s fair. I guess I did cause you to lose the club championship today.”

“You know, Claire, I don’t care too much about that. It would have been nice to win, but I know I played my best today, and I can take great pleasure in that. Plus, I had my family and my good friend there, rooting me on. Who needs more than that?” Abby hugged her then and kissed her goodnight.

“I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too, sweetie. Goodnight.”

I kissed Claire too and said, “Goodnight, and sleep tight.”

“And don’t let the bedbugs bite!” she chimed in as we left and closed her door.

Abby and I got ready for bed then. It was still early, but Abby was exhausted. When we got into bed, she cuddled up next to me, and I said, “Okay, I’m dying to know how the phone conversation went with Dana and how you got your suit back.”

“Well, when I went into the bedroom to call her, I thought for only a minute about what I would say to her, then I just picked up the phone and called. ‘Hello, Dana. This is Abby,’ I said to her. ‘I’m going to come by your house tonight and retrieve the suit you stole from Claire a few weeks ago. I realized you were using it today, and now I want it back.’ Short pause, and then she said, ‘What are you talking about, Abby?’ and I said, ‘Dana, you know what I’m talking about. I put thousands of dollars and hours into creating that suit, and I’m going to get it back from you.’ After a very long pause, she finally said in a weak, shaky voice, ‘You invented that suit?’ I think that surprised the hell out of her. Then I said, ‘Yes. It’s just a prototype and far from perfected yet, but I need to get it back to continue working on it. I’m coming over now, and I expect you to give it back to me. I’ll be there in 20 minutes.’ I didn’t even raise my voice; I just said it calmly. I waited for her to respond, but then I just heard a click as she must have hung up.

“I memorized her address from the phone book. On the way over to her house, I wondered what I would do if she failed to answer the door or if she refused to give it back to me. I was pretty sure she wouldn’t deny stealing it; she as much as admitted it when she asked me if I had invented it. I thought that if she wouldn’t answer the door or refused to return it to me, I would have to get the police involved. I could also threaten legal action, and a case of grand theft like this would undoubtedly carry both a fine and jail time. I hoped it wouldn’t go that far because it might be difficult to prove she stole it, and legal fees can be expensive. If I lost the case, I would be out not only for the golf suit but for the lawsuit. I had a strong feeling she wouldn’t fight me on it, though.

“When I got to her house, I walked up to her front door. The porch light was on, and I could see a bag hanging from the door knob. I looked inside, and there was the suit. What a sense of relief flowed over me to see it again! And then I left, just like that. I guess neither of us really wanted to confront the other about it. I can’t very well go to the tournament committee and accuse her of cheating now; how would I ever prove it? Let her have the darn title. I figure it will end up being a Pyrrhic victory for her; how can she possibly enjoy it knowing that she cheated to get it and that I know it too? I don’t care that much about the title—at least not in comparison to the joy I feel in getting the suit back.”

“You’re amazing, you know that? You certainly have a good sense of what’s really important. Sure would have been nice to have won, though.”

“You know, I feel like I did win. I just didn’t get the recognition for it, which isn’t that important to me.”

“So, is that the end of it?”

“I guess so. Except that this experience pointed out the need for me to take out an insurance policy on it. If it gets lost or stolen again, at least we could get some money back for it. Also, I’ve got to get it dry cleaned the first thing after I do that tomorrow. It really stinks! I think all the foulness in her soul just exuded into it.”

“You know, one good thing came out of this. It proved that the suit really works and is simple enough to figure out how to use even without instructions.”

We mused on that for a while, then we kissed goodnight and fell asleep soon after.