Chapter 2

September found us in college. Lori went for Information and Systems Technology and I went for Business Management. We managed to make it almost all the ay through our freshman year before Lori's strong will surfaced again. There was a concert that Lori wanted to go to, but it was on a Friday night and I had already committed us to attend my mother's birthday party. Lori knew this almost a month ahead of time and never gave any indication that she didn't plan on attending. Three days before the party Lori told me that she had tickets and we were going to the concert. I reminded her that we were already committed to mom's birthday party.

"There will be other birthday parties for your mother Rob, but how likely is it that Bob Seger will ever be in town again. I'm going to the concert Rob."

I just shrugged and said "fine."

The morning of the concert Lori called me and said, "We need to get there early to make sure that we get a good seat. What time do you want to pick me up?"

"Why would we need to get there early?"

"There will be thousands of people there Rob."

"Not likely. It is only going to be immediate family and a few friends."

"What are you talking about?"

"Mom's birthday party."

"We are going to the concert Rob."

"No Lori. You are going to the concert. I am going to my mom's birthday party."

She hung up on me.

Saturday I was at work unloading a semi trailer with Harley Neubert who worked at the store part time. We had the trailer half empty and took a break. As we were sipping coffee and sharing a box of Hostess chocolate donuts Harley said:

"You and Lori on the outs again?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"Saw her at the concert last night. She was with Randy Combs and they didn't seem to be able to keep their hands off of each other."

I shrugged, finished my coffee and then got back to work unloading the trailer.

Given the way that Lori had hung up on me I didn't expect to hear from her for a couple of days so it came as no surprise when she didn't. Monday at school I was coming out of the bookstore at the Student Union and across the hall in the cafeteria I saw Lori and Randy Combs sitting at a table. I don't think either one of them noticed me as I walked out of the building.

I didn't share any classes with Lori so I didn't see her at school, but Thursday after classes when I went to work Lori was waiting for me outside of the store.

"You haven't called."

"You hung up on me. To me that meant that you didn't want to talk to me."

"I was upset."

"Not my problem."

"You know I wanted to go to that concert."

"And you know that we had already committed to the birthday party before you found out about the concert."

"I don't want to fight Rob. Are we still going to Bev's party Friday?"

"I'm going. I asked Clarissa if she would go with me and she is supposed to call me and let me know."

"Clarissa? What the hell is going on here Rob? You are supposed to be going with me."

"I thought that you would probably be going with Randy Combs. Everybody who saw the two of you at the concert said that you couldn't keep your hands off of each other and then when I saw you with him in the Student Union cafeteria I figured that you and he had something going so I gave Clarissa a call."

I looked at my watch and then said, "I'm late for work. Got to go" and I walked into the store and left her standing on the side walk. I hadn't called Clarissa, but Lori didn't know that. I skipped the party and went to the movies.

At the store on Saturday Harley asked me why I had missed the party and I told him that I hadn't felt well.

"Lori was there" he said. "She came alone."

I shrugged and he said, "Randy was there and he came alone too."

"Harley, I don't give a rat's ass about what Lori and Randy do."

"They didn't do anything. She wouldn't dance with him and once I heard her tell him to go away and leave her alone."

Given what Harley had said about what had gone on at the party between Lori and Randy I called her on Monday and asked her if she wanted to go out on Tuesday evening and she said yes. A couple of date's later things were back to normal between us.

The rest of our freshman year and all of our sophomore year slid by with no problems and we were starting to think about life after college. The subject had never been brought up verbally, but I think that Lori and I both just assumed that we would be getting married. I think the fact that we never talked about it had something to do with our next rocky patch.

It was halfway into our junior year and my dad was finally comfortable enough with me to start taking time off and leaving me to run the store. That meant a lot of Saturday and Sunday work for me and since the store hours were from 8 am to 9 pm it also meant a lot of late night Fridays. Mondays and Thursdays didn't enter into it because it was understood that school took precedence and evenings were for study and I had school the next day. But Friday - Friday was a killer! It, along with Saturday nights were prime date nights and when dad took a weekend off Friday and Saturday nights were off the board for me as far as dating was concerned.

Lori was not a stay at home girl and after several weekends of my not being able to take her out she started going out to things alone and when she was alone guys flocked to her. If she went alone to a dance when it ended there were always parties and always someone who would ask her if she wanted to go to one. I began to hear rumors of Lori and some guy dancing "real close" or Lori and some guy holding hands or making out in a car. It bothered me, but I had not asked Lori to marry me — I had not put a ring on her finger — and I had really never asked "Lori, would you go steady with me." What we were was a couple who just kind of came together and for the most part stayed together. I had no real claim on Lori or her time, but that did not mean that it did not bother me. I could not stop Lori if that is what she wanted to do, but I didn't have to like it.

After working three weekends in a row I finally got one off. I had not spoken to Lori in several days and — my head being full of the rumors I had been hearing — I wasn't sure that I wanted to talk to her right then anyway. There was a party at Sam Janke's Friday night and I went alone. I got there early and helped Sam move all of the living room furniture into the dining room to make a dance floor and then I got myself a beer. I'd been there maybe twenty minutes when I saw Carol Murrey walk in alone. I went up to her and told her that she had arrived just in time.

"I need a dance partner."

She looked around and I said, "I'm alone tonight."

"Oh goody" she said and offered me her arm and I led her out onto the makeshift dance floor. We were dancing when Lori walked in with Randy Combs. She saw me there dancing with Carol and stopped in her tracks. She obviously didn't expect to see me there and she looked like she wanted to turn and leave, but I had already seen her with Randy. I looked at her for several seconds and then looked away and ignored her for the rest of the evening.

By the time the party started breaking up I had a date with Carol for Saturday and I saw Lori watching as Carol and I left the party together. I had no idea what she was thinking and frankly I didn't care.

Carol had driven herself to the party and so we agreed to meet at the Denny's on Coleman for coffee and a bite to eat. We were sitting in a booth next to a window and I saw Randy's F-250 pull in. Lori and Randy got out of the truck and headed for the restaurant and then Lori spotted me sitting there with Carol and she turned and went back to the truck. Randy called after her and she apparently said something to him and he turned and looked toward the restaurant and then he went to the truck, got in, the lights came on and they drove away.

Sunday I was in my room working on a term paper due on Tuesday when my mom hollered at me that I was wanted on the phone. It was Lori.

"Why didn't you call me and let me know that you weren't working Friday night?"

"What would have been the point? I've heard about you and the dances and parties you've been going to while I was working and I've heard all about the things you've done after those dances and parties so I naturally assumed that you already had a date set up for Sam's party. I went to the party on the off chance that you would be there alone also, but we both know how that turned out, don't we?"

"That's not fair Rob. It isn't my fault that you spend your weekends working. I'm too young to sit at home and stare at walls al weekend waiting to see if you can find some time for me."

"Well Lori, let me see if I understand this. You saw me at the party Friday so you knew I had the weekend off. Knowing that why didn't you call me yesterday instead of waiting for tonight? Could it be because you already had a date for last night too? Like maybe going to the movies with Randy? Or maybe that was some one else I saw going into the Rialto last night?"

"I didn't know you had the weekend off and I had already made the date."

"So you were lying to me three weeks ago when you said that you weren't dating; just going to dances and parties alone? Thanks for calling Lori." and I hung up on her.

Monday it was back to school and work after school. I kept an eye out for Lori so I could make sure to avoid her. She called and left messages for me to call her but I never did.