When Sky
woke up that morning, the first thing he saw was sunlight pouring in through
the window of his bedroom. The sunlight lit up his room, giving it a cheery
feeling. He shifted, rolling over to his side and groaned when he saw what time
it was. The glowing red numbers were flashing
For some
reason, he didn’t really care about the fact that he had woken up late that morning.
Usually, he would be up at
He quickly
brushed his teeth and exited the bathroom and headed towards his kitchen. He
made a beeline toward the fridge, pulling the door open and grimaced once he
saw what was inside.
Old rotten cheese.
His fridge
was completely empty with the exception of the cheese. Sky groaned, quickly
removing the rotten cheese and threw it into his trash can before slamming the
refrigerator shut. Why did he keep forgetting to restock his fridge? Was he
always that busy?
His
stomach growled and he let out a sigh. Looks
like I’m going to be eating out for breakfast. Again.
As he
headed back toward his bedroom for a change of clothes, the phone in his
kitchen rang. The blue ranger let out another groan. He wasn’t in the mood to
play nice with anyone that morning… he just wanted some food!
He debated
for a moment whether or not to pick up or let the answering machine get it and
finally decided to answer. The shrill ring of the telephone was beginning to
give him a headache. Whoever was calling him better have a good reason… Gingerly, he reached out and picked up the receiver and
held it to his ear. “Hello?”
“Oh, good! You’re finally at home. I was beginning to lose hope of ever finding
you this morning.”
The voice
on the other end instantly drove away his bad mood and he perked up a bit more.
Without being aware of it, a smile floated onto his face and he cradled the
phone closer to his ear. “Hey Syd, what’s up?”
“Other than wondering where you
were this morning, nothing much.”
Sky
glanced up at the clock hanging on his kitchen wall. “It’s only
“I know that, and now I’m wondering
what you did with the real Sky. Because the Sky I know would be answering his phone when someone calls it.”
“Ah,” Sky
paused. “Sorry about that. I just woke up about a half hour ago.”
“What? Really?”
Syd’s voiced
floated over the phone, sounding concerned. There were shuffling noises in the
background that made him think she was in a hurry to get somewhere. “Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine,
it’s just one of those days where I feel like being lazy, you know?”
“Okay, who are you and what have
you done with the real Sky? You’re never lazy.”
“Haha,
very funny,” he retorted sarcastically. “So, did you need something?”
“Not really,” Now Syd sounded amused. “But I hope you’re up for a visitor, because
I’m bored and I’m coming over, okay? Bye!”
The line
went dead before Sky could answer.
Sky pulled
the phone away from his ear, and stared at the receiver. Grinning, he shook his
head and hung up the phone. He started to head back to his bedroom once more,
hoping to change clothes before Syd would get there, but the sudden ringing of
his doorbell stopped him. Frowning, he headed toward his front door and cracked
it open.
“Hey you!”
“Yes,
please come in,” Sky said sarcastically as he shut the front door. “What, you
don’t wait for an invitation to come in anymore?”
Sky rolled
his eyes and shook his head, grinning as he did so. He headed toward her. “So,
what did you bring me?”
“Well, I
knew your fridge was bare, so I went grocery shopping this morning. Why else
would I be frantically calling you nonstop, huh? I needed to get into your
house,” Syd winked at him. “Can’t have you eating out all the time, it’s
unhealthy.” The pink ranger turned her attention back towards the bags that she
had carried in. She pulled out packages of food and waved it at him. “You hungry?”
“You are a
goddess!” Sky exclaimed, racing toward the petite blonde. “I’m starving!”
“Good,”
the pink ranger giggled, before turning to the stove. “Pancakes sound good?”
“Pancakes
sound great,” Sky answered. “I’m going to go and change clothes.”
“Take your
time,” Syd replied, as the blue ranger headed towards his room. “Hey Sky!”
Sky turned
abruptly and looked at the pink ranger questioningly.
Syd winked
at him. “Nice boxers.”
She
laughed as Sky turned bright red.
xxx
Sky let
out a contented sigh and grinned as he waved goodbye to
The phone
rang, effectively breaking his thoughts and reminiscing. He quickly reached for
the receiver, glad for the distraction. “Hello,” he answered.
“Hey son.”
“Oh, hey dad. How is everything?”
“Everything’s fine. I was just
wondering if you’d like to stop by the house later for lunch.”
“Sure.”
“Alright, son. I’ll see you then.”
Sky hung up the phone, feeling confused. His
father often called to check up on him, but this time he had a strange feeling
about their lunch date. He couldn’t shake off the feeling that his father
wanted to talk to him about something.
xxx
Lunch had
been an enjoyable affair. He and his father had joked around and caught each
other up with the events in each other’s lives. Scott Tate spoke of the latest
activities he had done and Sky told his father of all the trainings he had done
with the cadets at the Academy. They had settled onto the couch in the living
room and a comfortable silence ensued.
Scott Tate
looked at his son. Sky was an adult now and he was extremely proud of him. What
he had to say next was not going to be easy…
“Son, we
need to talk.”
Sky’s good
mood suddenly faded away and he sat up straighter, giving his father his full
attention. “About what?” he asked carefully.
Scott
stared at him for a moment, before asking, “Why haven’t you settled down and
gotten married yet?”
Sky was
sure his face had a pained expression. “Can we not talk about this?”
“No Sky, I
want to discuss this.”
“Dad!”
“No Sky!
You’re twenty-six years old for goodness sake. You have to settle down
sometime!”
The blue
ranger fell silent and Scott Tate sighed. This was not the way he had imagined
the conversation to have started out.
“Dad,” Sky
spoke quietly. “Relationships… they aren’t… well, they aren’t for me.”
Scott
raised an eyebrow. “Give me a good reason why they aren’t.”
“Because… my
life is SPD,” Sky’s eyes strayed to the floor. “I’m alone because I chose to
be. Relationships just don’t work for me dad.”
“Bullshit.”
Sky looked
up, shocked by the sudden tone in his father’s voice.
“Don’t
look at me like that, Sky,” his father said sharply. “What you just said was
complete and utter bullshit.”
Sky’s eyes
narrowed. “How is that bullshit?”
“It wasn’t
your decision to be alone. You’re alone because you’re afraid of your own
emotions.”
“That’s
not true!”
Scott
looked weary and he sighed. “Sky,” his voice was soft once more. “It’s okay to
love. You don’t have to be afraid.”
“I don’t
know what you’re talking about dad. I’ve never been in love.”
“No? Then
tell me about
His
father’s words effectively shut Sky up. He stared at his father, eyes wide and
his heart beating faster. Scott looked at his son and smiled softly. “You’re
not denying it. I guess it must be true.”
Sky sucked
in a deep breath. “How do you know about
“You think
I’m blind, Sky? I may be old, but I’m certainly not stupid. You were floating
on cloud nine for two years. You think I wouldn’t notice?”
Sky could
only shrug.
“Why did
you and Sydney break up?”
The blue
ranger stared at his father, not sure of what to say, but knowing he had to
answer. He looked away. “I don’t know.”
Scott gave
his son a knowing look. “I think you do know, you just
don’t want to admit it to me.” He moved closer to Sky. “Does it have to do with
your mother?” he asked gently. There was a long silence and Scott knew his
suspicions were correct. Sky had never fully healed from the impact his mother
had made by leaving. He sighed.
“Sky,” he
said gently. “Trust me, its okay to love.”
“No dad,”
Sky finally burst out. “It’s not okay! Was all the pain and suffering really
worth it? Mom was supposed to love
you, dad! She was supposed to stick by you in sickness and in health. You guys
were supposed to be together forever! And she just left!” He was breathing hard, and he clenched a fist, trying to
calm down. He sank lower into his seat. “She just left us,” he spoke more
quietly.
Scott
sighed, wishing that he had had this talk with Sky years ago. “Son,” he began
quietly. “What your mother did was wrong, but you can’t let her actions ruin
your happiness.”
“I just
don’t want anyone to leave me, like mom left us,” Sky mumbled. “It hurts too
much.”
“Sky,
answer this question for me. Do you still love
The answer
came immediately to Sky’s mind, but it took a moment to answer his father’s
question. “Yes.”
“Are you
afraid that she’ll leave you like your mother left us?”
There was
no hesitation this time around. “Yes. I wouldn’t be able to take it if
“So, you
left her first.”
Sky didn’t
reply and the silence said enough. Scott let out another sigh. “Sky,
Sky stared
at the floor, saying nothing.
“However,”
Scott continued. “
Sky looked
up, confusion swirling in his eyes.
“Son,
Sydney is also a Power Ranger. She understands each and every feeling you get.
She understands the feeling you get when you lose a life, she understands the
joy of saving the world and saving lives,” Scott paused and gave his son a
meaningful glance. “Most importantly, she understands because she was there for
every moment and every step of the way, fighting right by your side. And that
is the difference between Sydney and your mother.”
Scott
looked at Sky. “I’m proud of everything that you have accomplished in your
life, son. But trust me on this, life is too short to
live alone. Go find
“What if
you’re wrong?” Sky’s voice sound small. “What if I do all those things and she
leaves me?”
“It’s
called trust, Sky,” he spoke gently. “You have to trust her.”
Slowly,
Scott stood up from the couch and headed back into the kitchen, leaving Sky
alone with his thoughts.
xxx
The sky
was cloudy and gray and the air was moist as the former blue ranger walked
through the park. His earlier conversation with his father had left many
questions in his mind. Was his father right? Would he really be okay? Could he
trust
As he
walked along the path, memories, both good and bad, began swarming through his
brain. The bad memories were mostly of his mother, but the good memories were
mostly of Syd. Good memories that they had made in the very same park that he
was currently walking through. And without realizing it, he began taking a trip
down memory lane…
He felt cold. He had been sick for
the past twenty-four hours and his illness showed no signs of leaving anytime
soon. Coughs wracked his body and he sniffed, desperately trying to get some
air through his stuffed up nasal passage. Without warning, he sneezed three
times in a row. Leaning back into his pillows, he groaned. He hated being sick.
He coughed again.
“Boy, you don’t sound so good.”
His head turned at the sound of
Sydney’s voice. The petite blonde came into the room, carrying a tray of food,
which she set down on his night stand before moving to sit next to him at the
edge of the bed. She placed a hand on his forehead and frowned. “You don’t look
so good either. You must have a serious case of the flu.”
Sky could only groan.
Suddenly,
his heart felt lighter and he wanted to dance with joy. The clouds above began
to darken and there was a low rumble. Slowly, raindrops began to fall, damping
his clothes.
Sky’s grin
became wider as he felt the raindrops against his face.
Now all he
had to do was find her and tell her so.