Chapter 13: Mrs. Bristow

I relaxed the first week after graduation, helped Jane get the children's activities under control, and gave the clinic a through cleaning.

When I returned to work at the café, I made it known that my intention was to make a career out of my chosen profession. Ben said he'd been waiting for me to decide to join the staff full time, and made me an assistant manager, with a salary that seemed outrageously generous at the time.

That same week, I received two more wage increases. My mom called Mr. Perryman's attention to the job I'd done at the clinic, and he rewarded me with a handsome increase over the meager wage he'd been paying me. The third increase came about through Kitty. She informed her husband that I'd been making the changes to the sign without charging the businesses anything for my time. Mr. Perryman established an application fee, which benefited the town, as well as me.

Business was so good that the owners didn't mind paying their share of the town's expenses. With the increased revenue, Mr. Perryman was able to give up his booth at the café, and reopen a section of the town offices. He even hired Claire's mother as a part time clerical worker.

Meeker offered to show me how to prepare exotic dishes. He claimed to have worked in some of the famous restaurants around the country, and had learned from the masters.

"Not that you will use the skills here, but who knows where your life will take you," he said in a condescending way that made me think the café was beneath him.

With three salaries came increased responsibilities. Jane complained that I didn't have time for her. Even my day off from the café was spent cleaning the clinic or at the town offices, taking orders for additions or changes to the sign. I argued that besides getting to know the business owners, I was able to contribute to the household fund and still put a substantial portion of my pay away.

I don't know what Jane was complaining about. I stopped by the playground or the pool every day, and we had three dates per week. Well, two nights were spent at the clinic, but the third date was to attend a party, a movie, or to have dinner in a nice restaurant.

We had no secrets. I made sure Jane was the first to learn about Mr. Perryman catching Kitty sitting on my lap. I stopped by the pool the next afternoon, and she came to sit next to me, keeping one eye on the children in the pool.

"The sales clerk had told Kitty that it was closing time. We heard her leave. Kitty said she wanted me to hold her for a few more minutes. I guess time got away from us. I heard the front door open and thought it must be the sales clerk coming back for something she'd forgotten. Kitty must have come to the same conclusion because she didn't stir. The first thing we knew, the office door swung open and there stood Mr. Perryman."

"So what?" Jane asked. "All he saw was Kitty sitting on your lap with your hand on her tummy."

"We've ... ah ... graduated from that," I said, and watched as Jane's eyes opened wide.

"You've graduated? What does that mean? Why haven't I heard that you've ... graduated?"

"It's nothing like what you're thinking. Kitty unbuttons a few buttons and has me put my hand inside her dress. I guess she likes to feel my hand against her skin."

Claire had everything under control, but Jane checked on the kids before turning to me. I thought for a second that she was going to start crying. I wanted to assure her that she had no reason to be suspicious, but she was way past being suspicious. She had completely forgotten what I'd came to tell her, which was how Mr. Perryman had reacted to finding his wife sitting on my lap with my hand inside her dress.

"Mickey, I know that you're infatuated with Kitty, and that she's very fond of you. I gave her permission to sit on your lap for hours at a time. I DID NOT give you permission to feel her up."

With that, Jane got up and walked to the other side of the pool without hearing the rest of my story. I sat there dumbfounded. Jane had never been the jealous type. She'd always been the one I could count on to look at things with a level head, not jump to conclusions. She'd always been open-minded. It had been Jane that suggested we have sex with Janet and Berry.

Claire came over to where I was sitting. She didn't ask what was wrong between Jane and me, but she had a concerned look on her face. Knowing that I would be unable to talk to Jane, I told Claire to tell her to go see Kitty.

It was three days before I heard from Jane. She called to say that she needed to see me. We made arrangements to meet after I got off work that night. I was nervous about how much explaining I would have to do, but her 'hello' kiss washed away the anxiety I'd felt.

"You must have seen Kitty?" I said, happy that everything was back to normal between us. I knew Kitty had explained how her husband had taken one look at us and left. Kitty had been able to later convince Mr. Perryman that what we were doing was nothing to be concerned about. It always surprised me to learn how she could sway him to her way of thinking. He'd even told her that it made him happy to see her so tranquil after sitting on my lap for an hour and a half. She said he acted as though he had not noticed my hand inside her dress.

"Yes, she's a wonderful person, and funny, too. Every time I'm with her, I see why you like her so much."

"Where shall we go?"

Jane's eyes showed pity, like she couldn't believe how stupid I could be. "The clinic, of course."

We didn't talk about the incident with Mr. Perryman. In fact, we didn't talk at all until we'd first taken care of business. I admired her tanned body, and how her work at the pool was keeping it trim and in shape. We made gentle love and talked about how much we'd missed each other, but in between sessions, she had another pressing matter to discuss.

"Claire wants you to take her virginity."

"Why me? What's wrong with Freddy?" I asked.

"She's not comfortable with him. She wants someone more experienced."

I seemed to recall having this same conversation with Cory, nearly two years before. "Freddy's experienced," I said, remembering how often he and Agnes had disappeared into the guest room at Tina's house.

"Claire wants you to do it."

"She's not eighteen yet."

"It doesn't need to be right away. Her birthday is in November, long after I'm gone. May I tell her you'll do it?"

"She'll be eighteen in November? I don't remember her seventeenth birthday." I said, stalling.

"She didn't tell us because she didn't want Freddy to know she's older than him. Will you do it?"

"Are you okay with this?"

"Mickey, I'll be miles away, too far to keep an eye on you. What you do after I'm gone is your business. All I need now is a commitment from you."

I told her that I would let her know later. "This is only July. November is a long way off," I said, buying some time. I wanted to talk with Kitty before I decided to go through with it.

We had a pool party the following Sunday. In addition to our group, Mrs. Constance Perryman was an invited guest. Mrs. Crumbly was not invited, but that didn't stop her and her friends from taking their places on her back porch.

Tina and Tommy were the last to arrive. She came close to losing the top of her bikini when she waved her arms excitedly to tell us to come see her new car. I wondered how long she would be able to keep both parts of the bikini in place as we followed her to the front of the house.

The car was a new Mustang, bright red, inside and out. We were all admiring it when Tina sidled up to me.

"See how the passenger's seat reclines, Mickey?" she asked, bending over to demonstrate how the seat worked. I wondered if Jane and Kitty could see how much of Tina's breast was exposed.

"Very nice," I said, stepping back before she got a look at my boner. She was too quick for me.

"Are you talking about the seat or something else?" she asked, as she checked out my crotch.

I looked around and saw that everyone was listening to our conversation, especially Tommy, who looked mortified. This girl was definitely too much woman for him.

"The entire car is very nice. I know you'll enjoy it."

"I'll give you a ride sometime, and you'll see how comfortable it is. Hey, Jane, when are you leaving for college? I'm dying to give Mickey a ride."

Jane responded by taking me by the arm. "Mickey's my ride until I leave, and he's spoken for when I'm gone."

We played in the water for a few minutes in order to cool off, and then we invited Kitty to sit with us, where we could watch the goings on. Jane was steaming at the way Tina had blatantly made a pass at me.

Kitty and I joked about the ladies next door. They were keeping track of how long Cory and Agnes stayed inside the house, to be followed by Tina and Tommy.

"What are you going to do about that little slut?" Kitty asked me.

Jane jumped in. "He's not going to fuck her. She's trouble," and then, appealing to me, "Promise me you won't give in to her after I'm gone?"

"Give me more credit than that," I said, surprised at how emotional Jane became when she spoke about Tina.

"I agree that she's dangerous. Something's going to have to be done to make her lay off of you," Kitty said, sounding concerned.

"I might be able to convince her mother to call her off," I said, thinking of how many times I'd caught Mrs. Bristow's eyes on me at parties.

Jane became alarmed. "What are you planning to do?"

"I don't know," I confessed.

"Be careful, she's a powerful woman," Jane advised.

I assured her that I had no definite plans in mind. I'd heard that Mrs. Bristow was an executive, and felt that she would be easier to reason with than her flaky daughter. Unable to produce a suitable plan of action, we dropped the subject of how I was going to corral Tina.

It was obvious that the ladies were disappointed when Freddy failed to coax Claire into the house. Mrs. Crumbly looked my way, pleadingly, willing me to provide some excitement for her friends. I shook my head, and received a sourpuss frown.

Kitty turned to Jane. "What did you mean when you told the girl with the new car that Mickey is spoken for after you leave for school?"

"See that girl over there?" Jane asked, pointing to Claire, who was walking away from Freddy. "She wants Mickey to take her virginity, and you're going to do it, aren't you, Honey?"

"I haven't decided yet," I said, to find Kitty looking at me in dismay.

"Why wouldn't you? She's a lovely girl. Are you sure she's a virgin? I'm surprised some stud hasn't tapped her already."

"She's particular. You should have seen her two years ago. She had us convinced that she was going to wait until she was married to lose it. Being around us horny chicks must have made her see how much fun we have. Now, she's decided she wants Mickey to get her ready for college."

Kitty laughed. "What's wrong, Mickey. Don't you think you've got the stuff to please her?"

"I've never done it with a virgin. Jane and I lost ours the same night, but not together," I said, looking across the pool at Claire. She looked better every time I saw her, but she was such a nice person that I couldn't think of her as sexy.

"Since she's picked you, I don't see how you can get out of it. Once a girl decides she wants something, there's not much a poor boy like you can do but to oblige her," Kitty said, in a serious tone that showed she cared what happened to me.

Over the next month, Jane and I increased our sexual activity. We took every opportunity we could to be together, using the air mattresses at the house where the pool was located, the hospital beds at the clinic, and in my mother's car for a quickie in between.

Then, when Berry and Janet came home, Jane cut me off, saying that it was because I'd turned down her sister. Finally, on her last night at home, we went to the clinic for three hours of intense sex. I guess we knew that night would be our last together.

"I want to hear how you resolve the Tina issue," she said.

"Does that mean you're going to correspond with me?" I asked, remembering how few e-mails I'd exchanged with Janet when she went away.

"Absolutely, I want to hear all about your affair with Claire, too."

I couldn't contain myself. "You ask me to take her virginity, but now it's suddenly an affair."

"I predict that the two of you will be so deeply in love that you won't want anything to do with me when I come home for Thanksgiving."

"Will you want anything to do with me?" I asked.

Jane was silent for a full minute. "I'll never forget you, Mickey."

Claire and I saw them off the next morning. Janet was the first to say goodbye to me, Berry followed, then Cory, and Jane was last. "Remember what I said last night," she said, as we kissed for the last time.

The car was still in sight when I felt Claire place her hand in mine. "I'm riding with Tina this year. I told Freddy. I think he was relieved. I know he's been frustrated with me this past year."

I didn't know what to say. "Does that mean you won't be going to the parties with Freddy?"

She was no longer touching my hand, but she was standing close. "I was thinking ... maybe..."

It dawned on me. With Cory out of the way, Freddy would hook up with Agnes again. She wouldn't hesitate to take him back.

"I don't know how many parties I'll attend, but maybe we can go together sometimes."

"It you don't want to, I'll..."

I cut her off. "It's not that, Claire, being around Tina makes me uncomfortable."

"Oh," she said, smiling, and I couldn't help think what a beautiful girl she was. "Do you want my phone number in case... ?"

My girlfriend of the last year and a half was barely out of the city limits, and her friend was offering her phone number to me.

"Absolutely," I said, not wanting to hurt her feelings, not that I intended to call her right away.

Two weeks went by before it hit me. This was the first September in twelve years that I was not in school. Did I miss it? I didn't miss the commute, but I missed having lunch with our group at the Perryville table. I didn't miss homework, but I had a thirst for knowledge about subjects that interested me; preparing appetizing meals, restaurant management, and town government. I began to investigate how small towns were governed, and it was not long before I was spending three hours per day on the internet. What I learned was that Mr. Perryman's style of government was unique.

It was the third Monday in September, and I was counting the day's receipts when Agnes knocked on the office door.

"Tina's car is parked across the street. Do you want me to get rid of her?"

I grimaced. This was the moment I'd been dreading. "That's okay, Agnes, I'll go see what she wants. It's time I face the music."

Tina got out of the car as soon as she saw that I was crossing the street. She was wearing a sweater and a very short skirt. I couldn't help noticing how long and thin her legs were.

"Mickey, I made the varsity cheerleader squad."

"That's great, Tina. Congratulations!"

"The first game is Friday night. Will you go with me?"

"Aren't you taking Tommy?"

"My parents don't want us to drive home alone. Will you please go with us? Otherwise, my dad will have to go, and he's no fun."

"I won't get off work in time to go with you, Tina."

She made a face, like she was pouting, before closing the distance between us. I stood my ground, letting her rub her small breasts against my chest, and feeling her thighs touching mine.

"Mickey, would you like to go for a ride in my car?" she asked.

"This is a school night, Tina. Have you finished your homework?"

"I don't have to be home until ten. Would you like to drive?"

"Where would we go?"

She put her hand on the back of my neck and touched her lips to mine. I wondered if Agnes and the rest of the crew were watching us.

"We could stop someplace and I could show you how the seat reclines."

I chuckled. "You haven't met Officer Roscoe, have you?"