Chapter 47

Friday went by fast. I was a little worried that things might be uncomfortable between Kelly and me, but aside from a couple of long stares, she acted as though nothing had happened. I saw Tammy and Mrs. Rand on the bunny hill after a couple of fast morning runs, and I stopped to watch.

Tammy had recovered enough from yesterday that she was back at it again and her determination was amazing. But poor Mrs. Rand hadn’t been able to ski much, so I told her that I would take over, and I spent most of the rest of the day with Tammy. She was actually learning pretty fast, and she was getting so good by the end of the day that we went to some of the more advanced runs. It was great seeing her have such a good time.

We were taking a break at one point, and I teased her about falling asleep during my massage the night before. She replied with something that surprised and pleased me. She said, “It was a wonderful massage. Every bone in my body ached, but it was just like always, Pete. I felt better as soon as you touched me. I never feel better or safer than when I’m with you.”

What she said affected me a lot. She’s proved to everyone that she’s smart, tough, and able to make her own way in the world in spite of her background. I know that she’s all those things, plus she’s three years older than I am, but I feel like I’m the older one when we’re together, and I want to be the one who shields her, protects her, and keeps her from harm. I’ve come to accept her as a part of my life, and it’s an odd but welcome feeling to want to feel responsible for another person. We skied a couple more runs, then Erin and Kelly showed up and we took the shuttle back to the cabin.

Kristen called around eight o’clock, but we didn’t talk long. She told me about what went on at the shows, and then she asked me how Tammy was doing. We didn’t talk about ‘us’ at all, and I was actually glad. She said that plans had changed, and she and Amy were coming home together after Sunday night’s performance. She would be in LA for three days, and that she and Tomaso were going to cut a record. She said not to bother as her dad would send a car for them when I asked if I should pick her up.

I walked Tammy to her room around eleven o’clock, and she pulled me inside. We kissed, and she put her head on my chest for a minute. She said, “I don’t know when the next time I’ll be able to do that will be. I have to make my mind up about what to do with Tony.” She looked up at me and said, “He says that he wants to marry me. What should I do, Pete?”

I had been thinking about this, and although I wasn’t pleased about her being with someone else, it seemed that Tony was a pretty good guy and he said that he loved her, so I said, “I want to see you happy. You should be with Tony if he can make you happy.”

“He does, Pete. He does everything he can think of to make me happy. The only thing that bothers me is his dedication to his work. It’s the most important thing in his life, and that’s what bothers me. I want to be the most important thing, and I’m afraid that I’ll just end up being ‘Tony’s wife’ after the newness wears off, and he’ll go back to being a workaholic.”

I knew that I didn’t have an answer to that, so we just held each other for a while, then she said, “He still wants me to live with him. I may do it and see how it goes.”

I said, “Well, if you think it’ll make you happy,” but I was really feeling a little jealous, and I had to force myself not to advise her against it. A final hug, and I slipped out of her room. The house was quiet, but there was a light coming from the kitchen and I was thirsty, so I went in to get some juice and found Marie sitting at the table, smoking.

I poured myself some juice and sat at the table with her. “I didn’t know you smoked,” I commented

“Just when I’m bored.”

“You shouldn’t have told your boyfriend to leave.”

“He’s not my boyfriend, he’s just a guy I see once in a while, plus he was pissed off at me. While we’re on the subject, are you finished with that girl you’ve been going with?”

“I guess so. She wants things that I can’t give her right now.”

“Like what? Commitment?”

“More! She wants to get married.”

“I kinda figured it was something like that. How old is she?”

“Same age as you. Eighteen.”

“And you’re seventeen, right?”

“Uh-huh. By the way, how come you’re already out of school?”

“My folks entered me in grammar school early, plus I skipped a grade.”

“Oh! So you’re a smart one, huh?”

“Not too smart. I can’t seem to keep a boyfriend.”

“Why was this one pissed off at you.”

“Oh, it was just a personal problem, plus he’s a jerk.”

I looked at her for a minute. She is actually very good looking, and I tried to imagine why guys weren’t standing in line, waiting to get dates with her. I said, “That’s weird. You’re very pretty. What do you do to drive them away?”

Her eyes flew open when I said ‘pretty’, and she said, “Thank you” when I finished. “That was very nice of you. No one has said that to me for a while. No wonder Kelly has a crush on you.” We sat in silence for a minute, then she said, “She hasn’t tried anything funny with you, has she?”

I was thinking that what Kelly tried was far from funny, but I answered, “No. She’s only fourteen for crying out loud.” She stared at me for a few seconds, as though she was trying to figure out if I was lying, then she said, “Well, just be careful. Girls can do dumb things sometimes.”

We helped the Rands straighten the cabin up Saturday morning, then I called Mom to tell her that Tammy, Erin, and I were on our way home. She wasn’t there, so I left a message. We loaded our things and got in my car.

A funny thing happened on the way home. It had been snowing all night, and we slipped and slid our way to the main road where a group of cars were stopped next to a patrol car. We were told that we had to put chains on, or we would have to wait for the snowplow and follow it down the hill. I didn’t have chains, but the Rands did, so I helped Mr. Rand put them on, and they went on ahead.

Erin and Tammy rooted around in my glove box, found some tapes, and began singing along with the music while we were waiting for the snowplow. Neither one could sing worth a darn, and I pretended to hold my ears, so they naturally both sang louder, and even more off-key. It was great watching two people who I love having such a good time, then the snowplow got there and we followed it down the hill.

The funny thing that happened was that it was in the mid-twenties and snowing when we left the hill. We pulled into a gas station less then an hour later. Two guys came out of the restroom dressed in swim trunks, and got into a car with two surfboards strapped to the roof. The temperature was in the seventies. I was beginning to really love southern California.

The house was empty when we got home, but Mom left a note saying she would be home later. Erin immediately ran to her room and called Kelly. I shook my head. Tammy laughed and said, “Don’t ask. It’s a girl thing.”

Tammy said that she had to leave, but wanted to talk to me for a minute, so she followed me into my bedroom. She closed the door behind her and suddenly was in my arms. We kissed for a long time, and when she finally pulled away, we were both flushed. I said, “Can we get together for dinner tonight?”

She shook her head and said, “No, Pete. You know what would happen, we would end up in bed. I would love that, but it’s time for me to grow up and make my mind up about Tony.” We kissed once more, and I was walking her to her car when Mom drove up. Her face was serious when she got out, and she said, “Let’s get into your car, Tammy. We have to talk, and I don’t want Erin to hear this.”

We got into Tammy’s car, and Mom was quiet for a minute, then she looked at Tammy and said, “Mr. Mariani and I have become friends because of Pete and Kristen and we talk once in a while. Something disturbing happened this week, and I’m not sure what it is, but Tony and his father are both angry about something, especially Tony, and it seems to have something to do with you and Pete.”

Tammy and I looked at each other. We had been together for the last few days, and although we had slept together one night, we hadn’t had sex. What in the world could be wrong?

Then Mom continued, “I’m concerned about you two. I hate to ask this, but have you done something that would make their family angry?”

I started to say something, but Tammy interrupted me, and said, “You know that your family is like my own, Mom. Pete will tell you that the reason I came here Wednesday was to talk with you about Tony. I was afraid that something like this would happen. He’s been trying to overwhelm me from the moment I met him. That’s the reason that I wanted some time away from him. What went on while we were gone?”

Mom answered, “I came by the house Wednesday, and there was a message from Tony asking me to call. He seemed angry, and asked me where the two of you were when I finally got hold of him. I told him that you had gone skiing, and that you’d be back Saturday, and he hung up on me. I tried to call his father and they said he was unavailable.”

Tammy looked at mom for a minute, then she frowned and said, “I’ll get to the bottom of this and let you know what’s happening.” Mom looked at me as she drove off, then she put her arm around me as we went back into the house. She hugged me a little tighter than usual, and I said, “Don’t worry, Mom, Tammy will get this straightened out.”

“I’m not worried about this. Tammy can handle it.” It wasn’t what she said, it was the way she said it. She looked as though something was on her mind. I said, “Is something the matter?”

“Amy is coming home tomorrow, and we have to get everyone ready for school.”

“Oh. Uhh, okay, is Dad coming home soon?”

“Yes, he’ll be here Tuesday morning, and he’ll be taking some time off.”

“Good. It’ll be nice having him home.”

Erin came out of her room just then, ran to Mom, and started telling her about the ski trip, so I went to the phone table to pick up messages. There was a call each from Alice and Molly saying that they would talk to me next week. One was from Karen saying to call her when I got home, and one from Bill saying the same thing.

The phone table thing was obviously not working out with three teenagers in the house, so I told Mom I was going to the store to pick up an inexpensive answering machine. Erin started begging her to get one for her too, so Mom handed me some cash, and told me to pick one up for both her and Amy. Erin came with me, and we drove to a local discount electronic store. Erin got kind of quiet on the way there. She finally said, “Did you and Kelly, uhh, do anything at Big Bear, Petey?”

I try not to lie to my family. I might leave some things out, or gloss over something sometimes, but this was a direct question. I knew that it would come back to haunt me if I didn’t answer truthfully, because I want Erin to be able to trust me, so I told her exactly what happened.

She quietly sat for a minute when I finished, then she said, “That explains why she acted a little weird. I thought that it might be because she found out that you and Marie had been fooling around at first, but I knew that didn’t happen, and I started thinking that it might have been her and you. I know how crazy she is about you,”

“Oh, c’mon, Sis. You know that it’s just puppy love.”

Her eyes flashed and she said, “So, you think we’re just puppies?” I realized I made a mistake, and I quickly said, “No, you are both beautiful young women, but you are my sister and Kelly is like a little sister too. I just can’t imagine doing anything with either one of you.” That seemed to satisfy her, but something she said bothered me, and I asked, “Why are you so sure that nothing happened between Marie and me?”

“Because she’s having her period. That’s one of the reasons her boyfriend left. Everyone knows that you can’t have sex with a girl when she’s having her period,” then she looked over at me and asked, “Can you, Petey?”

It occurred to me that I didn’t know. I had never been with a girl who was having her period, but to keep Erin quiet, I said, “No, of course not.”

We pulled into the electronic store and went inside. It was one of those huge stores that sell all kinds of equipment from computers to refrigerators, and we asked a clerk where the answering machines were. He pointed to an area in the back next to some big-screen TVs, and we went over and began looking around. There were too many to choose from, so I looked around for a salesperson. There was a desk where some people were gathered doing paperwork. They were wearing shirts with the store’s emblem on them, so I went over. A tall girl caught my eye. She was looking down, writing something, and her long brown hair was covering part of her face. She looked familiar somehow, and I went up to her. I stood there until she looked up when I got close enough to see her name badge, and I said, “Hi, Nell.”

It occurred to me in the time that it took her to look at me, how could a girl who runs in rich circles like she does, work as a clerk? She didn’t recognize me at first, then her eyes narrowed slightly and it looked like she blushed! She turned toward me and said, “Hi, Pete. It’s nice to see you again. Can I help you with something?”

“Uhh yes. My sister and I are looking for answering machines. Can you get someone to help us?”

She said, “I can help you, follow me,” and we went to the area where Erin was standing. Erin looked at us when we got there, and I said, “Erin, this is Nell. She’s a friend of mine.” Erin looked at her nametag and said, “Hi, Nell. Do you go to the same high school as we do?”

I suddenly remembered that she thought I was an older, rich, businessperson until just then. I was a little embarrassed For a few seconds, then it struck me funny for some reason, and I began to grin. She started to grin back after a few seconds, and we stood there looking at each other until Erin said, “Uhh, Guys. What’s going on?”

We both stammered, “Oh nothing,” and Nell proceeded to help us pick out the machines. Erin walked over to look at the big screen TVs while she was writing them up, so I said to Nell, “Are you disappointed that you spent the night drinking beer with a high school kid?”

She stopped writing and said, “Surprised, yes. Disappointed, no. I had a good time that night. Are you disappointed that I work in a retail store?” Taking a lead from her, I said, “Surprised, yes. Disappointed, no. It makes you seem more real, and I think that we should get together over coffee and talk about it.” She warily looked at me and said, “I thought that you and Kristen were married or something?”

“No, that was just to fool the reporters.” She finished the paperwork and handed it to me, then she stood in front of me and said, “Okay, Pete, what do you want from me?”

It caught me off-guard and I wasn’t quite sure what she meant, so I stammered, “Uhh, well, I uhh...”

She grinned slightly and said, “C’mon, Pete, tell me what you want. Do you just want to talk to me or do you want to figure out a way to get me into bed?” I finally got my wits about me, and I answered, “Well, hopefully both, but why don’t we start out with coffee first?”

Her grin was bigger now, and she scribbled something on a piece of paper, stuck it in my shirt pocket, and walked back to the desk. I looked at the paper while I was waiting in line to pay for the machines. A phone number and a drawing of a steaming coffee cup was on it.

Mom was on the phone when we got home, so Erin and I began hooking up our answering machines. The installation was easy, so I thought that I’d hook Amy’s up too. I saw that Mom had put her messages on her nightstand when I went into her room. There were quite a few of them, and curiosity got the best of me. I started looking through them. Most were from the kids at school, but there were a bunch from Wayne, the tennis instructor. It looked like he had called every day, and each one said that he missed her and couldn’t wait for her to come home.

I considered throwing them away, but I knew that she would kill me if she found out, so I left them alone. I didn’t like him, and I promised myself that I would talk to her about him when she got home. I was sitting there with the notes in my hand when Mom came in. She said, “Put those down, Pete! They’re not your business, and I don’t ever want to see you touch Amy’s private things again! Now get your sister and come into the kitchen. I want to talk to the two of you.”

Embarrassed, I went and got Erin, and we went into the kitchen. The dinner table was set, and I noticed that there was an extra plate. Mom saw me looking, and said, “Tammy is having dinner with us. She’ll be here in a few minutes. I want to talk to the two of you before she gets here.”

“Some things have happened, and I want you both to be present when we talk about them. I want to show you what can happen when people’s feelings are involved. You’re getting to an age when your actions have consequences, and the older you get, the more you have to think about how things affect other people before you do them.”

The doorbell rang just then and a very angry-looking Tammy came in, carrying a large envelope. Mom told her to put it down while we ate dinner, and she slammed it down on the floor next to her chair. We quietly ate, and Mom asked her to open it after we finished. She did so, and she spread out a bunch of eight by ten photos and some papers. Mom nodded to them, and said to me, “Take a look.”

All the pictures were time-stamped. The top one was a shot of Tammy standing at our front door, the next one was of us getting into my car, and a bunch of them were taken through the windows of the restaurant where we had dinner. One showed us eating and the rest were when we were dancing. There were a few showing Tammy and the other guy dancing, but the rest were of her and me, including two of her hugging me. The next shot was when we went back to the house. Then, one of the house with the lights on and another with the lights off.

The next one showed us loading ski clothes into the car the next morning, and another showed us driving off. The final one showed us on the freeway onramp. Then there was a page describing how the photographer followed Tammy to our house, and how she had been there the whole night. Then he talked about us getting to the car the next morning and how he followed us to the freeway, where he was involved in a minor traffic accident and lost us.

Tammy was seething. I had never seen her this angry before, and it was surprising. I had often talked with her about things that had gone on in her life, and although she might be angry about certain things that had happened, there was always a touch of hopelessness connected with the conversations. It was as though she thought that she was in some way responsible for what was happening. But that was before. This was a different person. This person was an aware, confident, woman, and she was pissed off about the invasion of her privacy.

I said, “Where did you get these?”

“I went to Tony’s house to find out why he hung up on mom, and he showed them to me. He said that he got suspicious when I told him that I wanted some time away from him. He thought I might be seeing someone else, so he had me followed.”