Chapter 5: Paddling Upstream

"Okay, Dieter. We can meet at the park. We can talk there. I'll meet you at two o'clock by the bandstand," Merilee said, sounding like it was no big deal.

When I hung up, I wondered how the conversation might go. She hadn't given me any clue when we talked on the phone, so I didn't know if she even wanted to see me at all. At least she agreed to talk, but she sure didn't sound very excited about it. Now ... I had to figure out what to say.

It was drizzling rain on Saturday afternoon. I parked the truck and wandered toward the bandstand. As I got closer, I saw Merilee sitting on one of the benches in the covered area. She was wearing a raincoat and sitting quietly, not looking at me, just staring at something ... or nothing. I walked up the steps to the platform and moved slowly toward her.

"Hi, Merilee," I said quietly. There was no one else around. We had the place to ourselves.

"Hi, Dieter," she said calmly, looking at me. She wasn't smiling.

I sat near her, but not next to her. I wanted to see her face. Maybe get a hint of how she was feeling. What she might be thinking.

I wasn't sure how to start. I had rehearsed a bunch of things I wanted to say, but they all seemed to vanish from my head when I looked at her.

"I'm sorry," she said finally, looking at me.

I nodded. I didn't need to add anything to that. I was pretty sure she was apologizing for not being straight with me.

"It's not like we were going steady, or anything," I managed.

"I know ... but you asked me that first time I met you if I had a boyfriend and I said no. I didn't want to discourage you."

"How long have you been seeing Harley?"

"A month. Not long. I guess I got caught up in how nice and ... successful he was. I didn't think he was the one ... at least ... I didn't think he was serious. Guess I should have been smarter."

"You still seeing him?"

"No," she said, looking at me. "It's over." The expression on her face looked ... what ... hopeful?

"So what to do want to happen now?"

"Do you still want to go out with me?"

This was starting to sound like two high school kids trying to work out who was dating who. What the hell. I was thirty and she was twenty five. Surely to Christ we'd gotten past this by now.

"Look, Merilee ... you're a really nice gi ... woman. I mean you're beautiful and everything, but you've got to make up your mind what you want. We're both adults, not kids. This isn't some game we're playing. This is about real life. Just so you know ... I don't share. I'm a one woman guy and I expect my lady to be a one man woman. Simple as hell when you think about it."

She nodded.

"Why don't you take some time to decide?" I suggested. "I'm in no rush. Just think about what's important to you and let me know. I'll be around," I said, getting up.

I looked at her as she sat there, still looking like she was unhappy, or maybe confused. I couldn't tell which. I was kind of hoping she would have jumped off her seat and grabbed me and told me I was the guy since Harley was history. That didn't happen. I turned, walked down the steps and over to my truck. When I looked back from the cab, I could see she was still sitting there, not looking at me, just staring off somewhere else.

When I got back to my place, I walked upstairs and went inside. I grabbed a beer and some potato chips and turned on the TV. Pop and Marla were out, so I was alone, and I was feeling alone. I don't know what I expected to happen this afternoon, but I left knowing nothing more than when I had arrived. I had a hunch I'd seen and heard the last of Merilee, and that didn't leave me with a good feeling.

The baseball game was boring and at some point I drifted off to sleep, my beer only half gone. I don't know how long I was out for, but it came to a quick end when my phone rang. It was right next to me on the table, so I jumped pretty good when it went off.

"Hello," I said, pretty sure I sounded groggy.

"Duke? Is that you, Duke?"

It was a female voice and it sounded a bit familiar, but I couldn't place it.

"Yeah, that's me. Who's this?"

"Joanna Milliken, Duke. I used to be Joanna Hansen. Remember me?"

"Yeah ... sure I do, Joanna. How are you?" I asked. I was wide awake now.

"I'm fine, Duke. I'm back in town again. Moved back a few weeks ago. I've been meaning to call you, but I didn't know if you were still around. When I saw the big building on the south side, I figured that might be you or your family. I should have looked you up in the phone book, but to tell the truth, I wasn't sure if you'd want to talk to me."

"Hey, Joanna, you know me better than that. I'm glad you called. We should get together and find out what's been going your world. Unless ... maybe ... your husband would mind," I added as an afterthought.

"I'm not married ... any more. So, no problem. I'd like to see you. It would be good to talk about stuff, unless you have a wife ... or something."

Both of us were dancing around and not really learning much more than we were both single and we wanted to see each other.

"Listen, Joanna, it's Saturday and I'm not doin' anything with anyone. Why don't we get together for dinner? I know a nice, quiet place we can go and get caught up. How does that sound?"

"Okay. Are you sure, Duke?"

"Yeah, JoJo," I chuckled. "I'm sure." One nickname deserved another, I figured.

"You haven't forgotten," she said, sounding surprised.

"Naw. A guy never forgets his first girlfriend. Especially one a good lookin' as you. How about I pick you up a six-thirty. Does Italian food sound okay?"

"That sounds fine. I'll give you my address," she said, and read off the number and name of the street. It wasn't that far from my place, so it wouldn't take me long to get there. She also gave me her phone number in case anything unexpected came up.

After we hung up, I sat there for a few minutes, just thinking. It had been almost twelve years since I'd seen JoJo. I wondered what she looked like. We were the same age, and I figured she couldn't have changed that much. She'd got married, but it wasn't to the jock that stole her from me. His last name was Asshole.

I phoned Luciano's and made a reservation for seven o'clock. Then I went and picked out some clothes to wear, shaved again, and brushed my teeth. I was anxious to see what my first girlfriend looked like after all this time. It didn't matter. Even if she'd ballooned up to 200 pounds, I was still interested. I wondered if she had kids.

I don't know where Pop and Marla got to that afternoon, but they still weren't home when I was leaving to pick up JoJo. I decided to take the 'vette even though it was still raining a bit. Might as well try and impress her with my success when I had the chance. Maybe she'll see what she'd missed.

I arrived at the address just after six-thirty and noticed it was a townhouse in a row of a dozen, all looking the same. Not too old, and not too plain. They looked pretty nice, actually. I rang the bell and immediately heard footsteps pounding to the door. It was flung open and I was looking at two tow-heads, both about the same age I figured.

"Hi ... are you a real Duke?" one of them asked, immediately guessing who I was.

I laughed. "Nope. That's just my nickname. What's your name?"

"I'm Mike, and this is my brother Tony. Mom's still getting her clothes on. Come on in," he said like he did this every day.

"Are you guys twins?" I asked, thinking it was possible.

"No way!" Tony shouted. "I'm seven and my brother is almost nine. I'm big for my age."

"You wait," I said. "Mike will start to grow again and you'll have to catch up."

"That's what Mom says," Mike agreed.

"Drink lots of milk and eat all your vegetables and it'll happen," I assured them.

That brought a groan from both of them.

There was a knock on the door and Tony ran to open it. It was a teenage girl, obviously the babysitter.

"Hi Wendy. Come on in. Mom's boyfriend is here. His name is Duke," he said pointing to me.

"Hello, Wendy," I said. "I'm Dieter Hunsinger."

"Hi," she answered shyly. "Wendy Simpson."

At that moment, Joanna made her appearance and I guess I just stood there with my mouth open, sucking wind. It took me a moment, but I did manage to say something.

"Jeez, Joanna, you look fantastic," I gasped. She did too. The years had not only been kind to her, they had added to what I always thought was the prettiest girl in school. But this was no girl. She was all woman now, and it showed. It showed everywhere. She was wearing a shiny blue dress that didn't hide a single curve on her body, and there were plenty of curves.

"You look very handsome too, Duke. Do you still go by that nickname?"

"Naw ... not so much. I've learned to live with Dieter," I grinned.

"Nobody but you remembers me being JoJo. I lost the second 'Jo' somewhere along the way, so most people call me Jo now."

"I'll try to remember that," I promised.

Joanna gave Wendy the usual instructions about bedtime and her cell phone number and we left after saying good night to the boys.

"Nice young boys, Jo," I said. "You must be pretty proud of them."

"They are good kids, Dieter. They've gone through a lot in the last couple of years and come out without too many scars."

"Divorce?" I asked

She nodded. "Unfortunate ... but necessary."

When we got my car, she stopped. "Oh, this is nice. I've always wanted to ride in a Corvette. Is it a '61 or '62?" she asked.

That stopped me dead. "You know, there isn't one woman in a thousand that would know to ask that question. Have a look at the front fender."

"A 327! Wow, a '62! Fuel injection?" she asked, wide eyed.

"You bet. Now you're going to have to explain just how you know all that. The last time I saw you, you didn't know a Hummer from a Hudson."

She laughed. "Things change, Dieter. I guess we've both learned a lot in the last twelve years."

I helped her into the car, then drove to the restaurant. We'd be a couple of minutes early for our reservation, but I didn't mind sitting in the lounge if there wasn't a table ready. It would give us another chance to talk.

As it turned out, we had to wait about twenty minutes for our table, but that gave us some time for a glass of wine (both of us preferred red) and more conversation.

"Tell me about you and your family business," she said as we relaxed in the lounge.

"I worked for another company in the auto parts business for a couple of years, but they were hopeless. I knew I could do better if I got the chance, so ... like the saying goes ... you gotta take a chance to have a chance."

"By the look of that building, you've done really well," she said.

"Yeah ... well ... I've got the old man to thank for that. He's the guy that makes it work. I'm better at looking after the customers and finding new things to sell. We've grown like crazy in the last ten years. It's been a real good business and it's still growing."