The Pick Page 11

  Fall semester was starting the next week and the church foyer was buzzing with stories of summer adventures. Ally and Kylie had chosen to stay in their apartment for another year, because they enjoyed their ward and the close proximity to campus.

  When Ally and Kylie left for church that morning, neither of their roommates had arrived back from summer break, so Kylie was surprised when she saw Stephanie.

  “Hey Kylie!” Stephanie waved from across the foyer.

  “Hi Steph. I didn’t expect to see you today! When are you moving in? I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever. We need to do some serious catching up,” Kylie responded once Stephanie made her way over.

  “Yes, we do need to catch up! I’m going to start moving my stuff in a couple of days. The sooner the better. I don’t know if I can bear another boring week at my parent’s old folks ward. That’s one of the reasons I decided to come to the singles ward today.”

  Kylie laughed. “There is definitely a lot more energy here. Hopefully this semester there will be more single men. And if we’re lucky, maybe they will even be attractive.”

  “I sure hope so. At the very least, I need some handsome men to daydream about. Is Ally here?” Steph asked looking around.

  “Hey Steph, when did you get here?” Ally said, appearing out of nowhere.

  “I popped in at the end of Relief Society.”

  “The home ward was too boring for her,” Kylie explained.

  “Ahhhh, I see. How was your summer?” Ally asked.

  “It was good. I just worked at my mom’s quilt shop. How about you? How is your missionary doing?”

  “He is doing good. He absolutely loves the Mexican people and the food, even though he got hit with a parasite a couple of weeks ago. But the branch he is serving in took really good care of him. I can’t believe that he only has a little more than four months left before he comes home.”

  “Wait, I thought Justin went to Kansas?” Stephanie asked with confusion as Kylie’s jaw dropped to the ground.

  “Oh, um, ya. He did... Uh, he is doing good too,” Ally stuttered.

  “You are going to have to tell me all about this mystery Mexican missionary when we get home,” Stephanie chided as she headed over to one of her other friends she had just spotted.

  Kylie and Ally walked out of the church building in silence.

  “So, just to address the elephant in the room...When did ‘your missionary’ become Tyson again?” Kylie asked.

  “I don’t know. Believe me, I am just as surprised as you are,” Ally said as she shook her head. Her heart had spoken and she knew at that moment that it felt right.

  “Also, how did you know that Tyson had a parasite? I don’t remember him saying anything about that.”

  “Oh, did he not write about that in his weekly email?” Ally asked, hoping that he had.

  “Nope.”

  “Maybe he just didn’t want his family to worry. Plus, he is back to being healthy again.”

  Kylie dropped the subject, but wondered what else Tyson had told Ally that he had kept from everyone else.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Sitting in church a few months later, Kylie finished writing her letter to Tyson. She couldn’t believe that in three weeks, Tyson would be home. This would be the last physical letter that she would send to him. In his letters, he seemed to be thriving in the mission field. She was so proud of this ability to find the positive in everything. There was a time back at the beginning of his mission, when she was a little worried about him. But as a result, he had done a lot of growing, especially spiritually, and she could hardly wait until he was back home.

  Kylie couldn’t deny that she did feel a little jealous that Tyson seemed to tell Ally everything, while withholding certain little details from his family. Especially the things that might cause his family to be concerned. But she couldn’t complain too much, especially after the Justin disaster. She was just happy that Ally talked about Tyson as if she was waiting for him.

  Kylie knew that Ally still wrote to Justin as well. There always seemed to be a package in the mail from Justin. It got to the point that Kylie wished he would have gone far away to a remote island so that packages wouldn’t come often or at all. She made comments frequently about how she wondered if Justin was able to accomplish anything as a missionary with all the time and effort he was putting into these packages. Ally usually just rolled her eyes, but never said anything.

  It wouldn’t be long before she found out if the relationship that Ally and Tyson had nurtured only through letters and emails over the last two years resulted in friendship or marriage. Ally hadn’t changed a lot since Tyson had left, even throughout living a life of money and luxury while she dated Justin. Kylie gave her props for that. She knew that Tyson had changed a lot, mostly spiritually. Physically he had lost weight, even though he lifted weights every day. In the last picture she had seen, his hair seemed to be slightly lighter and his skin tan from the sun. She caught herself from laughing out loud when she thought of the defined farmer’s tan Tyson probably had. She could just picture how hilarious it would be if the tan didn’t fade by the time he had to put a football jersey on again.

  “What’s so funny?” Ally whispered.

  “Just thinking about how Tyson probably has a nice farmer’s tan.”

  “Yeah, he probably does,” Ally said with a smile.

  Elder Brooks subconsciously straightened his tie as he paused before going down the escalator. He couldn’t believe that he was this nervous. For the last two years he had talked to complete strangers as he tracked with his companions. At the bottom of the escalator was his family and friends he missed, including Ally. He took a deep breath and stepped on to the escalator.

  The nervousness evaporated when he saw his mom, tears streaming down her face. She was surrounded by his family and friends with signs and balloons. When he reached the bottom of the escalator, he quickened his stride toward the people he loved and gave his mom a bear hug, lifting her up off the ground.

  The hugs continued to his dad, Kylie, family and friends. Selfies and pictures were taken. As the crowd waiting to welcome him home seemed to be dwindling, Tyson felt a wave of disappointment when he realized that he hadn’t seen Ally. Another one of his friends stepped forward to greet him and that was when he saw her standing next in line. He couldn’t help but smile when he caught her eye. She smiled back as Tyson tried to focus on what his friend was saying.

  Suddenly she was standing right there in front him. The person who had helped him in his darkest moments and the one he had shared all of his trials with. Ally had been his lifeline when he felt he couldn’t continue. He didn’t know it was possible, but she was more beautiful than she had been two years ago. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and tell her that he couldn’t live without her. But he knew that probably wouldn’t go over too well quite yet.

  “Hey,” Ally said shyly. Tyson felt a little better thinking that maybe she was a little nervous too.

  Tyson instinctively stuck his hand out. “Seriously Tyson, what are you thinking? You have hugged all of your other friends. She is your friend. It would have been okay to hug her. Even just a side hug.”

  As he went to pull his hand away, Ally placed her hand in his. “Welcome home, Elder Brooks.”

  “Te extrañaba,” Tyson replied. I missed you.

  With that everyone was laughing at their awkward handshake and Tyson’s slip back into Spanish and Ally was lost in the crowd again.

  After leaving the airport, Tyson and his family and friends sat down at Iceberg with some onion rings he had been craving for two years. He smiled as he remembered the last time he had eaten onion rings and his war with Ally over the last remnants of the fry sauce. He looked around and couldn’t find her anywhere.

  He leaned over to Kylie, “Is Ally coming?”

  “No,” Kylie replied after swallowing a scoop of her mini shake that was more like a large size shake. “She had a class she had to go to
. Her Business Law class is brutal.”

  “Oh ya, she told me about that class.”

  “That reminds me. I have all of your class assignments ready to go.”

  “I still can’t believe that I missed a whole week and a half of classes,” Tyson sighed. “Maybe I should have waited until next semester to start up again.”

  “Ty, you are going to be fine. You are a smart kid. Plus, you had to enroll to practice with the team in the spring,” Kylie ensured.

  “Right.” He was already a week and a half behind at school and he had to prepare his Homecoming talk for the coming Sunday. Reality began to feel a bit overwhelming. He didn’t know if he was going to be able to handle being thrown back into school. He had been learning the gospel for the last two years. But for some reason, academic learning seemed like a completely different ball game. He was really going to have to focus in order to get caught up.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Ally set her backpack down and slumped into the couch next to Kylie.

  “How was crashing Tyson’s study session?” Kylie asked.

  “Horrible,” Ally groaned as she covered her eyes.

  “Oh, come on, it couldn’t have been that bad.”

  “It was. To start off with, he hardly acknowledged my existence. When I finally got his attention, he took off his headphones just long enough for me to ask if it was okay if I sat at the table and for him to say sure. Then he put his headphones right back on. And that was it. No smiles, no more conversation, nothing.”

  “Ok, that is pretty horrible.”

  Ally nodded her head as she added, “I finished all my homework, studied for a test that isn’t until next week and even watched an episode of Gilmore Girls before I finally gave up.”

  Kylie grimaced.

  “And all I got when I packed up and left was a nod.”

  “I’m sorry, Ally.”

  “What happened?” Ally sighed. “We used to talk to each other about everything. Tyson has been home for almost a month. No dates, no hanging out, no real conversations. Nothing. Valentine’s Day is in couple of days and I thought that we would at least be dating by now.”

  “I don’t know why, but I do know that he has been pretty stressed out. He had to catch up on a week and a half of class and he hasn’t had to study and prepare for tests for two years. Plus, he is trying to gain back the weight and muscle he lost on his mission. I think he is just overwhelmed. Give him time.”

  “I know… I just wish he would let me help him. I have already taken a lot of the classes that he is taking this semester.”

  “You know how he is. He just doesn’t want to ask for help. I could drop a couple hints for you if you would like,” Kylie offered.

  “Thanks, but you know our agreement. We never want you to be stuck in the middle of any of our relationship problems. You just have to hear us complain about them instead,” Ally joked with a small smile.

  “Ha ha, ya. I’m not sure which is worst… Speaking of Valentine’s Day, Ben asked me out to dinner!”

  Ally put on a smile and let Kylie tell her about her day’s events. But the only thing she could think about was how she needed to take going on a date with Tyson into her own hands.

  Tyson grumbled. Who in the world could be knocking on his door? All of his roommates were on dates and he was looking forward to studying at his apartment instead of having to trek to the library for quietness. He set his history book to the side and went to the door.

  He opened it to find Ally holding a picnic basket and a blanket.

  “Hi,” Ally said. “Can I come in?”

  “Well I’m in the middle of studying for my tests tomorrow, so...”

  “I figured you would be,” Ally interrupted. “But I promise, I’m here to help and I brought food.” Ally held up the picnic basket. Her smile triggered something in Tyson that made it so he couldn’t say no to her.

  “I guess I could eat.”

  “Good answer,” Ally said as she pushed her way past Tyson.

  Tyson wasn’t quite sure what to do as Ally pushed the coffee table out of the way and laid out the blanket. Ally sat down on the blanket, looked at Tyson expectantly and patted her hand on the blanket.

  “I really need to study, Al.”

  “You need to take a break. I promise that we can spend the rest of the night studying for your tests. Plus, I have flashcards for everything that will be on your tests tomorrow,” Ally said as she pulled two stacks of flashcards out of the picnic basket.

  “Where did you get those?” Tyson asked cautiously as he reached for them. He knew of a lot of cheating that went on around him and he didn’t want to find himself caught up in that mess and risk getting suspended from the football team.

  Ally jerked them away. “I took these classes while you were gone. I knew you would eventually take the same classes, so I held on to them. Marketing and accounting have a lot of the same requirements. I made sure that Kylie registered you for the same teachers I had as well. But before we get to that, we eat.”

  “Oh”, Tyson said as he sat down. He wanted to smack himself for thinking that Ally would cheat to get him some flashcards. He actually felt a little bit of relief when he thought of the flashcards. Tyson smiled as Ally pulled out a pair of Village Baker sandwiches and two cups of hot broccoli cheese soup.

  “I hope you don’t hate me but I got tomatoes on yours so you could give them to me, just like old times,” Ally said.

  They both dug into their thickly sliced sandwiches, after Tyson gave his tomatoes to Ally. Tyson was surprised at how easily their conversation flowed. He realized how much he had missed just talking to her. Had he really gotten so swept up in school and adjusting back to living a normal life that he put their relationship on the side burner?

  Once they finished eating, Ally handed over the flashcards and the studying began. Tyson was grateful for the flashcards that Ally had kept over the last two years. He was able to get an understanding of the type of questions the professors would be asking on the tests. Sometimes that was all you needed to know how to study for a class.

  Tyson was in the middle of mixing up the last few of the flashcards that he hadn’t mastered yet, when Ally exclaimed, “Oh no!” with a look of horror on her face. Worried that something was actually wrong, Tyson couldn’t help but laugh uncontrollably when she ran over to the picnic basket and pulled out a bottle of sparkling cider and two glasses.

  “What’s so funny?” Ally asked.

  “You looked like something horrible had happened…. And then you pulled out a drink,” Tyson said while trying to get his laughing under control.

  “Well I just made you eat your whole meal without a drink. And it wouldn’t be a proper picnic without a drink. Well I guess now it wasn’t a proper picnic because we didn’t drink it while we were eating. But I guess it is okay to be studying on a picnic. It can still be a proper picnic, right? Plus, I made sure to open it yesterday so it wouldn’t be so fizzy. The last time we had some I remember you saying that it was too fizzy and I just didn’t want you to miss out on non-fizzy sparkling cider,” Ally rambled.

  “Okay, okay. I’m sure that it is fine to study at a picnic,” Tyson said as he stood and grabbed the sparkling cider and glasses from Ally’s hands.

  After he twisted off the cap, he poured a glass for Ally and one for himself.

  “It also wouldn’t be a proper picnic without a toast,” Tyson said. “To Ally, for being so thoughtful and saving the flashcards for me.”

  “You’re welcome,” Ally said as they both sat down on the couch. “And to Tyson, for letting me in the door.”

  “Cheers,” they both said simultaneously.

  As 11:00 neared, Ally pulled a Village Baker chocolate chip cookie out of the picnic basket and handed it to Tyson. “I think you’re ready. I have a feeling you are going to great.”

  “Aren’t you going to stay and eat your cookie too?” Tyson asked, actually wishing that Ally would stay a little bit longer.<
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  “Well, I kind of already ate mine on the way over here. I was a little nervous just showing up at your doorstep,” she said with a laugh as she gathered up the picnic items.

  “We could share mine? I know how much you love a chocolate chip cookie,” Tyson teased.

  “Thank you, but I want to be home to hear the details of Kylie’s Valentine’s date.”

  Ally turned toward the door just Tyson realized that it was Valentine’s Day. That’s why all of his roommates were out on dates on a weeknight. It was Valentine’s Day and he had totally forgotten. Valentine’s Day and he should have been taking Ally somewhere nice. He had been home for almost a month and he hadn’t even spent time with her. Valentine’s Day and she chose to spend it with him instead of going out with someone else.

  “Why aren’t you out on a date tonight like everyone else?” Tyson couldn’t help but ask as he hurried over to escort Ally out the door.

  With her hand on the door knob, Ally turned around and said shyly, “There isn’t anyone else I wanted to be with.” Then she slipped out the door with a smile.

  Tyson grabbed the flashcards as he sat back down on the couch and tried to review them but his thoughts kept drifting back to Ally. He knew that he needed to make things up to her. He had planned to date her when he got back but school had gotten in the way. For some reason, it bugged him that he had made Ally be the one who had to make the first move. Thinking back now, she had made multiple first moves and he had just overlooked them somehow. She must really think that he didn’t want to pick up where they left off before his mission. Tyson could only image how hard he had made it for Ally. He needed to do something to make it up to her. But first he had to focus on his tests.

  The next day, Kylie opened a box of Little Caesar’s pizza while Ally stuck in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Their classes were over for the week and they couldn’t think of a better way to start the weekend. Sure, it was only 4:30 but anytime is pizza time.