Chapter 31: Too Much Heaven

London Armouries Hotel Restaurant

5:15pm, Saturday, February 24, 1979

“Oh, Lord,” Jennifer said as she stepped up to the maître d’s station with Colleen by her side. Jennifer looked smoking hot as she wore a just above the knee, black skirt over a pair of red, thigh-high stockings. Jennifer’s black high heel shoes gave prominence to her well developed, athletic calf muscles. Her upper body was smartly covered by a red metallic, wrap-around blouse, which allowed for intermittent flashes of her young, firm bosom.

“What’s the matter, Jenn?” her petite redheaded friend asked as Jennifer performed a quick one-hundred and eighty degree turn from the restaurant entrance. While she was up in her room, Colleen had put on a mid-thigh, Kelly green dress, which nicely hugged her developing curves. A thin, gold metal belt cinched the dress’s material tightly to her twenty-one inch waist. Over her lean legs, Colleen wore a pair of white stockings, which were held up by an unseen garter belt. Her shapely legs and tush were accentuated by a pair of strappy white, three-inch heels.

After she took in a good lungful of air, Jennifer softly said, “Nothing really. I, uh, I was just surprised to see four of my friends, my band mates actually sitting at the table ... there by the staircase.” Jennifer carefully lifted her right hand and pointed towards the table where Paul, Samantha, Cathy and I were sitting.

“Did you want to go sit with them or say hello? Or, uh, is being here with me something you’d rather not get into at the moment?” Colleen confidently asked her new gymnast friend, and hopefully her new ‘special’ friend.

“No, no, no, Coll,” Jennifer exclaimed to her suddenly sullen friend. “It’s not like that at all. I was just surprised to see them here because they were supposed to be down in Sarnia at our girls’ volleyball playoffs. Now, I’m wondering what happened, and why Mike, the guy with the short brown hair is here without his girlfriend, Lynette, the keyboardist in our band.”

“There’s only one way to find out, Jennifer. Let’s go over there and ask them what’s happening.”

“You’re one-hundred percent right, Colleen. Come on, let’s go. I’ll introduce you to my bandmates.” As the two pretty young girls stepped back up to the maître d’s station, Jennifer said, “Those are my friends, right there. Can we go over and talk with them for a moment?”

“You certainly may,” the mid-twenty year-old lady replied. Before she waved them on, she asked, “Will you two need your own table or would you care to sit with your friends? They have only been here about seven or eight minutes, and I don’t think their food order has been taken.”

“Can I let you know after we chat with them for a minute or two?” Jennifer replied as she took a hold of Colleen’s hand.

“That will be fine. Just wave your hand at me if you’d like for us to add two more chairs at that table.”

“Thank you,” Colleen and Jennifer said in unison. “I’ll do that,” Jennifer added.

“Wow! Good Lord! Look at who the cat dragged in!” Paul said as he caught sight of Jennifer and another beautiful young redheaded girl walking towards his table.

“Hey guys, and gals,” Jennifer said as Sam, Cathy and I turned to see who Paul’s cat was dragging over to our table.

“Jennifer! And... ?” Sam excitedly called out as we all smiled at our saxophonist and the cute girl, who was holding onto Jennifer’s hand.

“Uh, Time Bandits this is Colleen,” Jennifer said as she wrapped her hand, along with the Colleen’s around the waif-like girl’s waist. “I met her at my gymnastics meet today at Western, and we kinda hit it off as ‘tumbling buddies’. Colleen, these disheveled guys are my friends and band mates.”

“I’m Sam, Samantha.”

“She’s one of our lead singers, and she plays guitar and some keyboards,” Jennifer added to give Colleen a little more information.

“I’m Cathy, and I’m the drummer, and a VERY part-time singer.”

Paul and I looked at each other to see who was going to go next, when we heard Jennifer say, “That guy there, with the black hair is Paul, Cathy’s twin brother. He’s our bass player.”

“He doesn’t sing?” Colleen quickly added after Jennifer ended her description of my best friend’s band responsibility.

“Only when I threaten to kill him,” Sam chuckled as she completed a lightning fast jab that whizzed past Paul’s face.

“I actually sang a song today on our way back from Sarnia, thank you very much,” Paul offered up to Jennifer and Colleen.

“Really! What was it?” Jennifer incredulously asked our resident jokester.

“He actually harmonized beautifully with his sister on Wish You Were Here,” Sam replied as she put her arms around her boyfriend’s shoulder and pulled him in for a kiss on his cheek.

“No kidding,” Jennifer said as she eyed me for the first time since she came to our table.

“I’m Mike, by the way. It’s my pleasure to meet you, Colleen,” I replied as I held my hand out towards the smiling redheaded girl.

When she took my proffered hand, I instantly felt a bolt of energy run up and down my spine and then I immediately recalled who this beautiful, young redheaded gymnast was. Standing alongside Jennifer Rathje was my future Physical Education Major friend, as well as my future undergraduate girlfriend. When I focused on her sparkling blue eyes, I couldn’t tell if she felt that same pulse of energy or if she had a similar memory trace experience as the one I just felt.

When I snapped out of that quick trip down memory lane, I then said, “Yes, Jennifer. Paul and Cathy crushed that Pink Floyd song as Sam and I played guitars in the back of the Labatt’s LI-MOU-SINE.”

“So, what besides acoustic guitar to you do in this band, Mike?” Colleen said at the same time Jennifer fired off, “You guys were in a limousine?”

“It was my dad’s work limo,” Sammy said to Jennifer, as I started to answer Colleen’s question, but held off for a moment.

“And I missed riding in it with you guys. Dang!” Jennifer called out in mock frustration.

Jennifer then realized that I was waiting patiently to answer Colleen’s earlier question, and she said, “Oh, sorry, Mike, Colleen.” Then, before I could start my answer, she blurted out, “Mike here is our main lead singer, as well as one of the best lead guitarists I’ve ever seen play.”

“She mustn’t have seen many guitarists, then,” I replied as Colleen looked between Jennifer and me.

“He’s just being humble, now, Colleen,” Sammy said. “The first time Mike picked up an electric guitar, he simply DESTROYED the guitar solo from Pink Floyd’s, Time. He absolutely amazed everyone as he played that song.”

“I’m taking it that your ‘destroyed’ term is a good thing?” Colleen asked as she winked at the other redheaded girl sitting across from her.

“Okay, so I can play a mean guitar, but enough about me, or us,” I said as I tried to scoot my chair over a bit towards Cathy’s position. “Why don’t you two pull up some chairs and join us. Then, we can hear and learn a little bit about you, and both of your gymnastic exploits from today.”

“You sure you won’t mind?” Jennifer asked as she scanned our table.

“God, no,” Cathy replied as she scooted her chair around some towards Sam’s position.

“Okay, we’d like that,” Jennifer replied and then motioned over to the maître d’s station and held up two fingers to indicate that Colleen and her were going to join our small group for dinner.

After our waiter hustled two more chairs to our table, the pretty maître d worked to set up two additional place settings for Jennifer and Colleen. We probably were going to be a little cramped, but with all the lively conversation, I was positive no one would really notice or even care.

“Hey, I don’t think it will be safe for Paul to be surrounded by two beautiful redheads,” I said as I watched Colleen pull out the chair beside my best friend. “Isn’t there some rule about redhead overload? Come sit here beside me, and let Jennifer swap elbows with Paul.”

Everyone chuckled at my warped comment and Paul just raised his arms up with his palms aimed at me, as if to say, ‘What are you doing to me, Man?‘

After the waiter took Jennifer and Colleen’s drink orders, we listened as both newcomers at our table regaled us with their gymnastics exploits from their meet at Alumni Hall. Paul and I both cringed out loud when Colleen related a story about one poor girl, who slipped on the Balance-Beam and had that four-inch wide piece of wood jammed up into her crotch.

“Been there, done that,” Jennifer said as everyone grimaced at that admission.

“Too many times to count,” Colleen added as she dropped her hands down into her lap. She then said, “But that poor girl, today, that really, REALLY hurt her. All her momentum from doing a back-handspring was absorbed by a body part that definitely isn’t designed to absorb that amount of force.”

Colleen’s comments simply made Paul and I cringe all the more as I, too, dropped my hands from the table down into my lap.

“They had to help her off the gymnastics’ stage,” Jennifer added as she shook her long brown hair in sympathy.

“Enough of those type of stories,” Cathy said to which I silently added, ‘Thank you, Jesus.’

“So, you both won two individual events, today. And you, Colleen ... won the All-round high school division title? That’s dang awesome!” Sammy asked both Jennifer and Colleen to help clarify their day’s activities.

“Yuppers,” Jennifer replied with a huge grin on her face. “Coll...”

“Jennifer won the Vault with a near perfect score, and the Balance-Beam which is the hardest event, in my opinion,” Colleen interrupted her new friend to tell us what our band mate had done. “If she wasn’t still recuperating from some tendinitis, I think she would have won the All-Round title, too. Her coach decided to keep her from doing the Floors as a precaution, you know, with regionals’ and Ontario’s coming up soon.”

“That’s great, Jennifer,” Cathy and I said almost at the same time. Paul and Sam nodded their agreement with our statement.

“If you won the All-Round title, Colleen, you must have killed a few events, too, correct?” Samantha asked her redheaded counter-part.

“She was awesome on all four events,” Jennifer said with a grin. “She won the Floor and Uneven Bars, and came in third on the other two events. She won the All-Round by a landslide over the...” Jennifer paused as she tried to find the appropriate term.

“Over the BITCH from a school just down the road from my Catholic Girls’ School in North York,” Colleen interjected on Jennifer’s behalf.

“Wow, a little testy there, aren’t we?” Paul chuckled as Cathy, Sam and Jennifer’s mouths hung open at Colleen’s use of the ‘B’ word.

“If you knew, TAAAA-MARA like I do, you’d have no qualms about calling a spade a spade,” Colleen fired off with venom dripping from her words.

“She really was a ‘B-itch‘ at the meet,” Jennifer offered. “During our warm-up sessions, she treated Colleen and me like we were ‘white-trash’ ... telling us when to go or to hurry up with our practices, so little ‘Miss Boob-Job’ queen could take her turns.”

“Boob-job queen?” Cathy confusingly asked towards Jennifer.

“Oh yeah, that...”

“Bitch,” Colleen fired off once more which caused a round of laughter at our table.

“Yes, that bitch ... she definitely has had her boobs surgically enhanced,” Jennifer whispered out as she leaned over our table. “When we were in the shower, I could easily tell her titties had silicone implants in them.”

“Really?” Colleen asked.

“Yeah. Nobody’s boobs are that big, full, or funky-shaped like hers without some man-made assistance. Plus, I thought I saw a surgical scar under both her nipples.”

“I never knew that,” Colleen innocently said after hearing Jennifer’s breast implant description. After a few seconds, she added, “Now, that you mentioned it, Tamara’s boobs never did move or bounce when she was doing flips or tricks. Heck, I can feel my smaller boobs dancing around on my chest as I’m spinning or tumbling.”

“Amen to that, sister,” Sam replied with a smile before she covered her slightly larger breasts with her hands and added. “Even us small ‘B-sized’ girls can get ‘boob-lashed’ when we’re active.”

“Lordy, ladies,” Cathy chortled to the three girls, “you should try moving around with a full ‘C’ or ‘D’ rack. You don’t know what ‘boob-lash’ is, until you’ve been smacked in the mouth by one of these rebounding tatas.” Cathy then hefted her large ‘sweater monkeys’ up with her hands for added effect.

“Mike and I, we know EXACTLY what you mean, Sis,” Paul deadpanned out as he mirrored Cathy’s hand action on his chest. In a split second’s time, he suddenly cried out, “Hey now, no purple nipples allowed!”

I wasn’t at all surprised to see my best friend come under attack as Sam reached over and gave her boyfriend’s chest a not-so gentle pinch and twist for his bone-headed theatrics.

“Get your hands away from me, Cathy,” I playfully shouted as I swatted her hand when she attempted to give me a similar ‘purple nipple’. Unfortunately, I wasn’t prepared for Colleen’s sneak attack and my sudden cry of anguish startled our waiter enough to cause him to spill our drink order as he carried them towards our table.

“Oh! Jeezes, Sebastian, we’re real sorry about that,” Sam said to our waiter as everyone in the restaurant stared at the noise and sudden commotion. In a flash, our waiter was bent over gathering up the pieces of broken glass on the wet carpeted floor.

“It’s not a problem, Ms. Samantha,” Sebastian said as both Paul and Sam tried to get up to help him with the cleanup. “Please, guys, just stay seated. We’ll get this glass cleaned up. I don’t want you getting a cut or anything from it.”

“God, I’m real sorry for startling you there, my man,” I offered up to our waiter.

“Yes, I’m sorry, too,” Colleen quickly added. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

“No, guys. Honestly, this happens fairly regularly. Just not from that kind of high pitched shout.”

I was blushing big-time after listening to our waiter’s description for my prior cry. When Colleen turned back towards me, I felt her left hand gently pat me on my ‘abused’ chest, and saw a sultry-like smile creep across her face.

When the maître d came over to Sebastian, she said, “Go and get their replacement drinks, please. Stephen and I will finish getting the glass and carpet cleaned up.”

The rest of our dinner was nowhere near as exciting as our pre-order conversation and actions. We related our experiences down in Sarnia to Jennifer and Colleen. Both girls were really keen on hearing about our girls’ volleyball team results, and how we spent almost two hours in the hospital as Lynette was getting her shoulder examined.

I was genuinely surprised at the high level of concern that Colleen expressed for my girlfriend’s health. Once more, a strong flash back-forward hit me as I laid my left hand on hers. I instantaneously remembered that Ms. McGinny was hoping to become a sports-medicine doctor when I first met her on my first trip through college.

Jennifer really perked up when we told her about recording a few of our songs and sending it as a prom audition to the volleyball coach at Sarnia Northern. It seemed that during her gymnastics meet, two girls from Woodstock Collegiate Institute heard her telling another girl about playing in a rock band. Then, during an event rotation change one of them came over and asked about the possibility of getting a recording of some of our songs. They, too, were looking for a local band to play at their upcoming high school prom.

At the conclusion of our dinner, Samantha tried to get Colleen’s and Jennifer’s dinner put on her tab. However, Colleen quickly said, “My gymnastic club is paying for my dinner, drinks and dessert. With as much money as my parents give to it, I’m definitely good with my club footing this wonderful dinner bill. But thanks for that offer, Samantha.”

“Hey, girl, I know when to push for something, and when to tuck-tail and run,” Sammy chuckled out.

“Get out, Samantha Labatt ... Tucking tail and running? Unbelievable!” I chimed in which immediately earned me a slap across my right thigh from Cathy.

“Labatt! Labatt, as in Labatt’s Blue?” Colleen skeptically stammered out in Sam’s direction.

Sam just smiled at Colleen and winked as her boyfriend said, “That would be Sam’s clan, alright.”

“Wow,” Colleen whispered out and then offered, “I never would have guessed. You’re...”

“She’s a real sweetheart, and not a stuck-up ‘B’, ... like that gymnastic queen,” Jennifer interjected.

“Mercy,” Colleen sighed as she scanned the table. “Are you guys, like...”

“Mere peasants, M’ lady,” I quickly said as I waved my hand out in front of her. “Samantha here,” I then said as I motioned over to her, “is being punished by her dad. She’s is being cruelly forced into eating dinner with us ... common folk.”

“Enough, Cuda,” Cathy fired off, hoping to put a stop to my theatrics. “Look, Colleen, Sam is a Labatt, and we rode in her dad’s limo, today. But since we’ve met her, she’s been just plain ole Sammy to us. Matter of fact, she was majorly worried about offending us when she offered to pay for this dinner.”

“Were you?” Colleen asked.

“Not at all,” I replied and Cathy added, “She’s never flaunted her family’s wealth under our noses, so we didn’t think for a second she was trying to pull something on us when she asked us to eat here with her on our way back from Sarnia.”

“Uh, Colleen, Sam,” I then said, “I’m sorry if my prior words and actions gave you the wrong impression. To me; you, Sammy are just one hell of a good friend.”

“I liked your theatrics, Cuda, so I wasn’t offended,” Sam said with a smile on her cute face.

“I did, too,” Colleen replied as she rubbed her hand over mine on the table.

Just then, Sam held up her hand and Sebastian came back over to our table. When he came alongside Sam, she asked, “Can you call, Jason, and tell him we’ll be ready to leave in about...” and she looked at us sitting there, before adding, “fifteen minutes time. Please and thank you.”

“Certainly, Ms. Labatt,” Sebastian said as he took up the two black ‘bill-holders’ from the table. “I’ll bring your change back in a flash.”

“I don’t need any, Sebastian,” Sam replied and Colleen added, “I’ve put our dinner and tip on my room account.”

“Thank you, ladies. I hope you all have a wonderful evening. If I can do anything else for you, just wave.”

“You were great, Sebastian,” Paul replied.

“So, what are you guys going to do when you leave?” Jennifer asked.

“I don’t know about these guys, but I’m pretty tired,” I replied. “After playing Strathroy last night and then jamming with you guys ‘til midnight ... THEN spending a good chunk of time in the limo and at the hospital, I’m flat-slap worn out.”

“I’m kinda tired, too,” Cathy added and then let out a major league yawn for added emphasis.

“I think these two ex-lovers are wussing out on us, Sammy,” Paul snickered to his girlfriend.

“I agr...” Sam started to say before she was cut off when Jennifer exclaimed,

“Ex-lovers! ... Who? You two?” and she quickly aimed her index finger back and forth between Cathy and me. “What the heck! How am I just finding this out?”

“Relax, Jenn,” Sam replied as she motioned with her hands to chill out. “We, Paul and me, we both just found out about their prior relationship this morning.”

“Does Lynette know about you two?”

“Yes, and she doesn’t have a problem knowing that Mike and I secretly dated for five months last spring and summer,” Cathy replied with a smile on her face. “She’s actually been picking my brains for any dirt I can provide on old, Cuda, here.”

“Oh, isn’t that just dandy as candy,” I lamented and put my hand over my forehead. Everyone chuckled at my minor pity-party like routine.

Colleen then zinged me by adding, “That’s what you get for sniffing around more than one lioness from the same ‘Pride’. Those cold-blooded killers are going to compare hunting notes to ensure the best opportunity for a ‘kill.’”

“Jeezes, thanks for that, Colleen,” I sarcastically replied. “Now, I’m just lion fodder to these ladies.”

“At least you’re not going out with praying mantises, Cuda,” Jennifer snickered at me. “You know what happens to the males in that sexual relationship, don’t ‘cha?”

All of a sudden I was attacked by both Cathy’s and Colleen’s arms as they mimicked the powerful tearing action of the female praying mantis.

“Eat him up, rip his head off!” I heard Paul say as I was playfully pinched by both girls’ hands.

With everyone killing them elves with laughter, I pushed back from the table and my attackers and said, “I thought only one female praying mantis attacked the hapless male. This here ain’t fair, ain’t fair at all, I say.”

I guess the others used my impetus in pushing away from the table as their cue to do so, as well. As Cathy stood up, she asked, “So what are you doing afterwards, Colleen?”

The petite redhead dropped her head down for a moment before she looked straight up at Cathy and said, “Jennifer is coming up to my room, and we’re going to put our swim suits on to take a dip in the hotel pool.”

“Sweet,” Cathy said as she put her hand on our newcomer’s shoulder. “If they have a hot tub here, I’d seriously think about killing my ex-boyfriend, right now, in exchange for a good soak.”

“What is up with all this female on male violence talk,” Paul chuckled as he looked over at me. “Dude, we better head for the hills. These women are engaging in some serious smack.”

“Got that straight,” I replied as I put my hands on Cathy’s shoulders and faked holding her away from my body.

I could tell that something was up with Jennifer because she would normally be the buzz of the party and should have run with that comment about killing me in exchange for a hot tub. However, as soon as Colleen mentioned that she was going swimming with her at the hotel pool, Jennifer clammed up like an oyster with a new sand irritant.

Then, as I put my other hand on Colleen’s shoulder, I precipitously recalled her story where our own saxophonist, Jennifer Rathje seduced a young, innocent redhead after one of their gymnastics’ meets. However, as I thought about this story which Colleen related to me on our first night together, this seduction episode wasn’t supposed to have occurred until Colleen was in the twelfth grade or two years from now.

‘Good Lord,’ I thought to myself as we walked towards the restaurant exit. ‘Things are really getting messed up from my first trip through high school and college. Are the changes in my life going to reset my friends’ time line or cause major changes in their lives?‘

As I contemplated those thoughts, Colleen snapped me back to the here and now, when she swung around in front of me and stopped. The others didn’t seem to notice as we hung back, and continued their slow walk towards the restaurant exit.

With her baby blues staring up at me, Colleen softly asked, “Do we know each other? I just ... sitting at the table with you ... I got this funny notion that, uh, we’ve met before?”

A small smile spread across my face as I contemplated how I was going to answer my future UWO lover’s questions. I reached and took both her hands in mine and ambivalently replied, “Yes and no.”

That earned me a confused look and a pleading with her eyes for more information. “Colleen,” I whispered down in her right ear. “I have met you before, but not in this life. We became ... we WILL become best friends as PE students at Western ... in 1983. We’ll eventually become lovers and uh, I’ll even ask you to marry me before I leave for graduate school in South Carolina.”

As I felt her hands tighten around mine, I saw a spark of knowledge flash in her eyes as she listened to my futuristic story. “What is going on, Mike?” she softly asked after taking a few moments to process my words.

“Believe this or not, but I’m ... reliving part of my life, again. Some things have definitely changed, time wise for me and for my friends,” I replied. After a short moment where we looked into each other’s eyes, I then thought to myself, ‘Allow her to access our shared memories, and nothing else.‘

Just then, a huge smile crossed her face and she started to blush. When she lowered her gaze to my chest, I felt like she was picking up on a few of the things we shared in our ‘past-future’.

When she looked back up at me, she smiled and said, “My first time was with you.” Colleen then reddened a deeper shade of crimson and softly exclaimed, “Oh, Lord, no! Do I have to wait until November, Nineteen-Eighty-Four to ... you know ... experience that ... all those incredible feelings, again?”

“Not if you don’t want to wait that long, my little All-Canadian Gymnast.”

“What? All-Canadian Gymnast?” Colleen questioned in disbelief.

“Oops!” I chuckled, “maybe I shouldn’t have told you about that, huh.”

Just then, a familiar booming voice brought me ... and Colleen back to the here and now.

“Hello, Beautiful, and all her wonderful friends!” Mr. Labatt said as he and his wife, Katie walked between a few tables to come and say hello to his daughter and her friends. “Paul, Cathy, Jennifer, and Mike, how are you kids doing? Oh, I’m sorry, I don’t believe I’ve met you,” Mr. Labatt said as he stared at Colleen for several seconds. “I’m Samantha’s dad, William Labatt, and this is my wife, Katie.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Labatt,” Jennifer replied as she turned and reached for Colleen’s hand. “This is our new friend, Colleen McGinny. I just met her this morning at my gymnastics meet, and we really hit it off. She, uh, invited me here for dinner and to go swimming in the hotel pool. We just happened to bump into these guys when we walked in for dinner.”

“It’s my pleasure to meet such a beautiful, young lady as you, Miss Colleen McGinny,” Mr. Labatt said as he reached for her other hand and brought it towards his mouth to give the back of it a small kiss. As he held Colleen’s hand and her gaze, Mr. Labatt added, “Did my daughter happen to tell you that you could pass for ... or be the spitting image of her mother when my sweet Mickie was about your age?”

“Ah, no, Sir. Sammy didn’t mention that to me,” Colleen replied as Mr. Labatt quickly switched his gaze between his own redheaded daughter and his deceased wife’s young doppelganger.

“Well, my good lady, you do and uh, please forgive me for my earlier, disconcerting stare. Seeing you, well, it just caught me by surprise.”

“No apology is needed, Mr. Labatt,” Colleen said with a smile as she lowered her now free hand back to her side.

“Hello, Katie,” Sam said to her stepmom, who I could tell was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable in this unique ‘Colleen-Mickie-William’ situation.

“Did you and your friends have a good time at dinner?” Katie asked.

“Oh yeah!” Sam enthusiastically replied to her stepmom’s question. “You know I LOVE the Teriyaki Rib-eye and Quail dinner.”

“I think we all had a terrific dinner, Mrs. Labatt,” I added to make her feel like she was a part of this discussion. “Their ‘Triple Chocolate Cheesecake’ was so, so good. Heck, I may have been tempted to slap my momma, if she tried to steal a bite from me.”

“Lord, yes! I know what you mean, Mike,” Katie laughed as my friends chuckled at my goofy saying. “Will, here, he could tell you about the time I playfully stabbed him with my dessert fork when he tried to sneak a SECOND forkful of that cheesecake.”

“Yeah, I had to get a tetanus shot after she jabbed me with her fork,” Sam’s dad interjected in our story.

“You did not, Daddy,” Sam said, which quickly earned her a playful ‘evil-eye’ from her dad.

“Sam, you know my version would have made a better story for your friends, right?” Mr. Labatt said to his daughter as he gave her a big side to side squeeze.

“Sorry, Daddy.”

“Well folks, we don’t want to hold you kids up any longer, and I thought I saw Sebastian bring our cocktails over to our table. I hope you youngsters have a good evening,” Mr. Labatt skillfully said to effectively end this small gathering.

“Same to you, Mr. and Mrs. Labatt,” the five of us ‘youngsters’ replied in unison.

Only Sam offered up a different good-bye when she said, “See you at home, Daddy, Katie.”

“It was very nice to have met you, Miss McGinny,” Sam’s dad softly said before he turned towards his wife, and steered her back through the tables to their isolated, corner booth.

When we were standing by the hotel’s main front door, Cathy broke the tension and our unusual silence when she asked, “Does Colleen really look like your mother, Sammy?”

“I guess ... now that my dad mentioned it,” Samantha softly offered up to us. “You have to remember that I haven’t seen too many pictures of my mother when she was a young teenager, like us ... like Colleen. I was just ten when my mom died, and my best memories of her are from her final three, four years with me and my dad.”