Chapter 1: Sammy's First week at home
Marcie's call woke me.
"Suzanne warned me that you wouldn't talk to me," she began before I said anything.
My grunt must have encouraged her. "But I knew different," she continued as I walked into the bathroom. "I've been calling since Saturday afternoon and I know you got my messages. What's wrong, Sammy? What's that sound? Are you ... pissing?"
"You never fail to make me laugh," I said, holding the phone against my ear in my right hand and using my left hand to guide the stream into the water below.
"Were you ever going to call me or were you going to make me worry about you?"
"I should have returned your calls."
"What happened?"
"I fucked up?"
"So ... what's new? What did you do this time?"
"I gave Kelley the password to my journal and she found out that I had forgotten to name someone on my list. Apparently, she doesn't like being number twenty-six," I said, relieved, almost gleeful that I had been able to put my most recent 'fuck up' into words.
Marcie was quiet for a few seconds. I knew she had heard the toilet flush and the water running in the sink. I looked into the mirror and realized this was the longest I had gone without shaving since last year when I had the flu. Oh well, four days didn't look too bad; I decided to put it off for another day.
She finally broke the silence. "Guess who I saw?"
"Who?" I asked, happy to hear her move on without quizzing me as to the girl's name I had left off my list or asking how it could let it happen.
"You remember Adam Corning? He and some friends came to a party at one of the houses and guess what? He remembered me."
There was a chipper tone in her voice that I hadn't heard in ages.
Of course I remembered Adam Corning. He'd played center and was captain of offense when I was captain of defense our senior year at C.M.A. He was also the student commander, who had bested me in every measurable way, scholastically, athletically and politically. He never failed to excel in the classroom, on the football field and he had a way about him that drew people to him.
We were promoted to Cadet Major the same day; only his promotion was announced during morning formation while I had to wait until someone told me to check the bulletin board to learn that I had also been promoted.
"What's he doing now?" I asked, showing mild interest.
"He's at Harvard. We talked the longest time. He asked about you."
So what? "Am I the only thing you talked about?"
A long silence followed before Marcie said, "No, he's called me twice since I got home. He's coming to see me this Saturday."
What did she expect me to say? 'That's great, Marcie? Watch out for him, Marcie?' I remembered that his old man was a lawyer. "What's his major, pre-law?"
"Yes, he's planning to remain at Harvard for his graduate work."
Adam Corning and I were never close. Our relationship was strictly business, co-captains of the football team, senior advisors on the Commandant's staff and competitors in every respect. I always considered him the consummate insider. I recalled one time on the school bus when he told us why the Colonel would never allow a student to advance beyond the rank of Major. It had been the Colonel's rank when he retired from the army and he didn't want a high school student to achieve a higher rank in a mere four years. Lieutenant Colonel had been bestowed upon him by the school when he became the Commandant at C.M.A.
"Do you expect something to come of this?" I asked, suddenly concerned that she was putting too much stock in a casual meeting and a couple of telephone calls.
"I hope so," she answered,
"Where's he taking you?"
"He's not taking me anyplace. He says he wants to meet my family so I invited him to come for lunch. It's quite a distance for him to drive, you know?"
Adam Corning was up to his old tricks, sucking up to the parents. Wait until he meets Bernard, I thought. "Did he ever dance with you after a football game?"
"No, but he apologized for not dancing with me. He said he always admired you for the way you assigned cadets to dance with me."
"I NEVER did that! It wasn't that way at all," I corrected her. "Every Cadet wanted to dance with you. All I did was to control which ones were 'permitted' to dance with you, Miss Cochran."
"My sweet Sammy. You've always been my protector. Are you going to be okay until Kelley calls?"
"I don't expect her to call. She was pretty pissed on the way to the airport."
"She'll call," Marcie predicted. I cursed myself later for letting her say goodbye without my telling her to have a good time on Saturday.
I got dressed in cut-off sweats and went downstairs. Penelope wanted to make me something to eat, but I settled for toast and coffee. After chatting with her for a few minutes, I went across the street and walked around the park. There were a few people playing tennis so I sat on a bench and watched them play.
My thoughts of Kelley, how she had insisted that I take her to the airport on Friday afternoon, making me drive home alone on Saturday, were interrupted by a body blocking my view of the courts.
"Sammy, don't you remember me?" the kid asked.
"Curtis Jones? How old are you?" I asked, quickly recalling that Doctor Koskowski's son was eleven three summers before when I took him to little league games.
"Fourteen," he said, proudly extending to his full height. He had grown taller and slimmed down. I invited him to have a seat and we talked about his parents, school, football and girls.
"Are you still running?"
He nodded and I saw that he was pondering something. "Will you show me how to get ready for football like you did for Josh?"
"I'm not going to be around much this summer, Curtis, but I'll give you a schedule to follow if you promise to do what I tell you."
"I was thinking more about you working me out the same as you did with Josh."
"Like I say, I'm going to be traveling about half the time this summer and the rest of the time I'll be working at the office."
"I never told my mom about you and Cindy fucking on the floor," he proclaimed.
He was beginning to piss me off and I was in no mood to be pissed. Couldn't he see that I hadn't shaved in four days? "Are you trying to blackmail me, Curtis? She wouldn't have believed you, anyway" I said, no longer caring if he told his mother about his catching Cindy and me fucking in front of the television.
"When will Josh be home?" he asked, changing his tactic.
"Josh is staying at school this summer. He and a friend are working to save money for school."
Curtis shuffled around on the bench, like a boxer, looking for his opponent's weakness. "I really want to play. That's how you get girls, right?"
I didn't know if he was pleading for help or appealing to my sense of humor, but it worked.
"Be here at nine A.M. tomorrow. Dress like I'm dressed now. I'll put you through some drills that you can do alone. After that you're on your own, except Saturday mornings when I'll check your progress. Tell your parents what we're up to."
"Thanks, Sammy. I'll do whatever you tell me to do," Curtis said, sounding truly grateful.
I got up. "Curtis?"
"Yes, Sammy?"
"Don't ever try to pull that bullshit with me again. Do you understand?"
"I won't," he said, looking at his feet.
"I'll see you here tomorrow," I said as I walked away.
Damn, why doesn't Percy Jones take more of an interest in his kid? I wondered if Doctor Koskowski put him up to coming to me for help or if it was Percy's idea. It might be fun to show him the ropes, though. I'll wear the little shit out, I thought as I crossed the street to the house.
After three days of eating, sleeping and feeling sorry for myself, I needed something to do, so I headed for the garage to unpack my car. I wasn't thinking clearly when I left Pontiac, and since I was unable to decide if I should bring Kelley's belongings or leave them in the apartment, some of her stuff had made its way into the car and some had been left behind. Her computer was one of the items that I'd brought with me.
It took several trips to carry my stuff upstairs, and each time I returned to the garage I looked at Kelley's things, wondering if I should deliver them to her house. Should I call her and find out what to do with her things? No, she doesn't need any of them; Kelley had duplicates of everything. That much I knew. I closed the garage door and was halfway up the back stairs when an idea struck me. Send an email; that way she won't have to talk to me if she doesn't want to.
I rushed back to the car and carried the components to her computer into the sunroom where I plugged them in. Penelope came into the room and saw me sitting cross-legged on the floor.
"Suzanne called and said something came up at work. She's not going to be able to keep your date to play golf."
"Oh," I said, totally absorbed with what I was doing. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Penelope shake her head and disappear.
The first thing I noticed as the computer booted was a folder entitled, 'My Journal'.
Forgetting about sending her a mail message, I moved the curser to, 'My Journal'. Wouldn't you know; it was password protected. What's her password? I tried the password she used for her company's network. It didn't work. What's her fucking password?
Intrigued by the words, 'My Journal' I carried the computer components up to my room, intending to break the 'code'. I was making my second trip when Penelope asked if I wanted something for lunch. I told her yes, that I would come downstairs in a few minutes.
Thirty minutes later I looked up from the computer screen to see Penelope at my door. "Suzanne will have a yellow canary if she comes home and finds those boxes in the sunroom, Sammy."
"A yellow canary? Oh, this is taking longer than I thought it would," I said, bummed at not being about to open the folder.
"Is a sandwich all right? I'll bring it upstairs if you like?"
"Thanks, Penelope. That would be great!" I said, already trying another word.
I was cursing the screen when she came back with a sandwich, corned beef and provolone cheese on dark rye with a dill pickle and large glass of milk. "I remembered that you like mustard. I hope it's not too much," Penelope said as she looked for a place to set the plate and glass.
I took the plate and glass from her, took a bite of the sandwich and told her it was the right amount of mustard. "Thanks, Penelope," I said, my attention drawn to the screen. She shook her head and left the room.
I don't remember eating the sandwich and pickle or drinking the milk, but at one-thirty, when Suzanne stuck her head in the room to say hello, the plate and glass were empty and I was still trying to break the password puzzle.
"Sammy, did you forget to bring your razor home?" Suzanne asked.
"I remembered to pack my razor," I assured her, hoping she would leave me to my project of trying to decode Kelley's password.
"I hope you shave before your dental appointment tomorrow."
This caught my attention. "What time?"
"It's at ten A.M., don't you pay any attention to the schedule I gave you?"
"Ten A.M.?" I asked, remembering I had told Curtis to meet me at the park at nine.
Suzanne spotted my schedule on the desk and circled both the appointment to have my teeth cleaned and my appointment to see the doctor in the afternoon. "Now you won't forget, will you?" she asked and before I could answer, she added, "please shave before you go."
"I thought you got tied up at work?" I asked, wondering if she still wanted to play golf.
"It was a last minute luncheon appointment," she explained without elaborating.
I thought she was going to leave me alone, but I was wrong. Suzanne stood behind me and looked at the computer screen. "What's this?" she asked.
"It's Kelley's computer. I'm trying to crack her password so I can read her journal," I said, so consumed in thought that I had spoken without thinking.
Suzanne put her hand on my shoulder, patted once, like she was measuring her approach and then, SMACK, like she was driving the ball off the tee. "Don't you think she would have given you her password if she'd wanted you to read her private thoughts? How would you feel if she read your journal?"
"She did. That's what got me into trouble with her."
Suzann patted my shoulder again and I braced myself for another shot. It didn't come. She patted me again and leaned down to give me a peck on my whiskered cheek. "Oh," she said, before walking toward the door. I thought again that she was leaving when she turned.
"She's extremely vain. Try words like 'green-eyes' or 'dimple' or 'my-shit-don't-stink', words that make her feel superior."
"SUZ," I yelled, but she was already out the door and down the hall.
Her suggestions sounded too complicated. Knowing Kelley, the word I was seeking was something she felt strongly about, something simple, yet meaningful to her. I remembered an event from one of her visits to Pontiac that she often scolded me for, but always with a tone of fondness.
It happened one afternoon when I returned to the apartment from playing tennis, knowing she would be upset because I was late. She was standing in the kitchen, dressed for travel. I'll never forget the shocked look on her face when she saw me. It was one of stunned disbelief. For once, Kelley's voice failed her, for about three seconds.
"You're dripping sweat on the floor and you probably stink!"
She was right; I did stink and until I saw the anger in her eyes, I'd intended to take a shower. "Would you like to smell me?" I asked, raising my arm, dropping it immediately because the stench was too strong for even me.
"Don't come near me," Kelley said, backing away, into the living room. Was she wearing the short skirt to attract attention on the flight home? Her bare legs were certainly attracting my attention. Her blouse was a shade lighter than her skirt, open at the neck to reveal a light green bra. This was one sexy travel outfit. Even her sneakers matched the blouse.
"Take a whiff; it's not so bad," I asserted, enjoying how the anger in her eyes changed to fear as she backed away from me.
"I'll miss my flight," Kelley said, attempting to sound insistent, but failing. She was next to the bedroom door, still backing away from me.
I maintained the distance between us, matching my short steps with hers. She stopped when her leg hit the bed and looked around the room, frightened, searching for another way out. I kept my eyes fixed to hers as I moved to my desk and opened the top drawer.
Seeing what I was doing, Kelley protested. "No, Sammy, there's not enough time."
I retrieved a condom from the drawer and was removing my shirt when she spoke again. "Please, Sammy."
"Take your panties off," I ordered as I stepped out of my tennis shorts and jock strap.
"I won't. You're too ... dirty," Kelley said in a feeble attempt to sound defiant.
I didn't know what was making me act this way, completely out of character. Ordinarily, I would have apologized for being late, but something set me off. Perhaps it was the sexy way she was dressed. Or, it may have been Kelley's assertion that I smelled bad. I moved to within a foot from her and rolled the condom onto my cock. "If you don't, I will," I said, trying to make my voice sound menacing.
"My parents are meeting my flight," she said in her final plea to make me stop.
She looked down at my cock and then peered into my eyes. Two tears were streaming down her face and her hands were shaking from fright. Knowing that she was unable to do it herself, I reached under her skirt and pulled her panties down to her ankles.
"Get on the bed," I ordered and when she complied, I pulled the panties from her ankles, noticing that they were pale green to match her bra.
She sat on the bed, clutching the bottom of the skirt with both hands.
"Open your legs," I said as I poked my head under her skirt.
"I won't," she said, lodging my head between her knees. I could have easily spread her thighs with my hands, but I tried another course of action. I licked the inside of a knee and felt it quiver.
"Stop! Sammy, please!" Her voice sounded frantic.
My head was pinned between her knees, under her skirt. The darkness must have heightened my senses. The pungent aroma emitting from her pussy cancelled the stench coming from under my arms. She was definitely aroused. She just didn't know it yet.
I licked again and felt Kelley's body shudder. Two more licks and I heard her purr as her thighs separated. As I made my way up the inside of her thighs she pulled the hem of her skirt back until I got a view of the sparse pubic hair surrounding her pussy. A tentative lick separated the lips. Another lick, probing, achieved the reaction I was seeking. The heels of her sneakers dug into the bed and her pelvis thrust upward to meet my tongue. I gave her exposed clit some attention before moving into position.
I snuck a look at her face as I penetrated her. Her eyes were closed and her lips were clasp tight, but when I was in all the way in, her eyes flew open. "Sammy," she said as I pulled back and drove my cock inside her hard.
"Sammy," she said again, pulling my head down for a kiss.
Her legs were wrapped around mine, her lips were attached to mine and her arms were around my neck as I fucked her harder than ever before.
"Sammy!" she said when she climaxed the first time. I didn't stop. She repeated my name twice more before I was finished.
"SAMMIE!" she shouted when she felt me shoot a massive load of cum into the condom.
We didn't say anything for five minutes, not until my cock became flaccid.
"I love you, I love you, I love you, Sammy Oldham," she said, looking into my eyes, adoringly.
"I love you, too," I said, happy that she wasn't angry about her soiled clothing.
I got up and stumbled to the bathroom to shower. When I returned, Kelley informed me that she had made arrangements to take an early flight the next morning. She also said something about the excuse she'd given her parents for not making the scheduled flight, but I wasn't listening. Seeing her naked, except for her sneakers, drew my attention.
Thinking back to that afternoon and the night that followed gave me an idea. I entered 'SAMMIE' as the password and the file opened.
Strange, I thought, how telling a password can be. 'SAMMIE', was spelled the same way she had pronounced it when she'd shouted, "SAMMIE!"
Kelley had chosen a password that she associated with an orgasm. She was not usually vocal during sex. I only remembered her shouting 'SAMMIE' once or twice after that time. Was her journal going to be an orgasmic read? I was anxious to find out what she had to say about that day.
When Suzanne called me to dinner I'd read the first part of Kelley's journal twice and planned to read it again before proceeding to the next section.
Dinner was a wonderful creation of baked chicken casserole, rice pilaf, asparagus and biscuits. We ate at the kitchen breakfast bar; helping ourselves to the dishes Penelope had spread out. I had second helpings of everything and excused myself without asking what there was for dessert. Mr. Oldham looked askance when I deposited my plate and silverware in the dishwasher, but Suzanne smiled at me, as if she knew I'd been successful opening the file.
I smiled back at her, pleased to have an understanding ally, certain that she would explain what was occupying my attention to Mr. Oldham after I left the room.
Before going back to Kelley's journal, I called Curtis to tell him to come to the park early. Doctor Koskowski answered and refused to call Curtis to the phone.
"Why are you encouraging him to play football, Sammy?"
"I'm not encouraging him. He asked me to help him and I said I would."
"I'm opposed to his playing that game. Look what it got you. I don't want my son going through life with an ugly scar on his face."
"Curtis seems to think playing football will improve his chances with the ladies," I informed her, no longer caring if she approved of his playing or not.
"He thinks what?" she scoffed. "In the first place, Curtis is too young to be thinking about girls and in the second place, I don't want him losing his temper and permanently disabling some other boy."
"Doctor Koskowski, are you implying that I intentionally disabled an opposing player during a football game?" I asked.
"Isn't that what you told me you were trying to do?"
"Okay, Doctor, you're probably right to keep Curtis away from me. I've got a pretty full schedule this summer anyway," I said, not caring if she wanted to coddle her son.
"I know you have a busy schedule, Sammy. It's nice of you to volunteer to help Curtis."
'I didn't fucking volunteer' I wanted to say, but didn't. "Yes, I've got a ten o'clock dentist appointment tomorrow morning and I'll be working full time beginning next week."
"Did he really say that playing football would help him get dates?" she asked, losing the edge to her voice.
"Football was good to me," I answered, letting her interpret what I was saying.
"Yes, I recall. Goodnight, Sammy. It's nice to talk to you."
I said goodnight and went back to Kelley's journal. As I read it for the third time, I paid attention to every word, every sentence, every possibly underlying meaning. During the first reading I'd been astonished by the content. The second time I'd become angry with her. This time, I tried to withhold judgment, giving her the benefit of doubt.
While I was shocked about what I was reading, Kelley's candidness was refreshing. Rather than continue to the second section, I decided to give it a rest. I read until I couldn't hold my eyes open and must have dosed off. When I awoke the house was quiet and not wanting to wake Mr. Oldham or Suzanne, I began reading Kelley's journal for the fourth time.
Penelope interrupted my concentration, saying I was wanted on the phone. It was Doctor Koskowski. The sun was up and light was filtering into my room from the balcony.
"Sammy, I'm been reconsidering what you said about football treating you well. Do you think the military school you attended would be good for Curtis?"
"I believe it would, but it's too late to enroll him. They have a limited enrollment, Doctor Koskowski," I said, remembering how difficult it had been for me to be accepted back into the school for my junior year.
"I spoke to Percy about this and we agree that we would like for Curtis to attend the school you attended. He's excited."
"Who's excited, Mr. Jones?"
"No, Curtis is excited. I had to ask if a military school appealed to him."
Hadn't she heard a word I said? "The school is probably filled to capacity. They only accept forty students in each class."
"It's worth a try, isn't it?" she asked.
I gave Doctor Koskowski the telephone number for Cromwell Military Academy and suggested that she speak to Colonel Travis. She thanked me and, as an afterthought, asked me if she could tell the Colonel that I had recommended the school. I laughed and strongly suggested that she not mention my name.
As I returned to Kelley's journal, I wondered if Doctor Koskowski and her husband saw eye to eye about Curtis attending C.M.A. Her acceptance that football had been good to me gave me the impression that she wanted to help Curtis attract the opposite sex. Or, was there another reason for sending him to the Academy? I hoped they didn't simply want to shed the day to day responsibility of supervising a teenager.
I got so caught up in Kelley's journal that I studied it until the last minute, sparing the bare minimum of time to shower and shave before leaving for my dental appointment.
While in the hygienist's chair, I took my mind off what she was doing to me by thinking of the way Kelley had reacted when she discovered I had forgotten to include Tammy on my list of sexual partners. Couldn't she see that it was an innocent error? If I had wanted to deceive her I could easily have left a name or two off my list. Colleen, for instance, was mentioned only in passing in my journal. Nothing explicit was written about that unfortunate incident.
Deciding that I was obsessing about the contents of her journal, I decided to take it easy until it was time for my doctor's appointment. Although I didn't know it at the time, I was already planning my response.
Mr. Oldham and Suzanne bombarded me with questions at dinner. They were as curious as I as to why Doctor Koskowski was so easily convinced that C.M.A. was right for Curtis. But as I told them, "It really doesn't matter; He stands no chance of getting in; the freshman class was probably filled to capacity at the end of school last year."
Boy, was I wrong! We were having breakfast in the kitchen early on Thursday morning when Doctor Koskowski called to inform me that Curtis was being accepted into the freshman class at Cromwell Military Academy. I didn't believe her until she told me the entire story, how she had arranged for Curtis's eighth grade class standing to be faxed to the Academy and how she had sweet-talked the Colonel.
"I hope you don't mind, Sammy, but I dropped your name. Colonel Travis thinks very highly of you."
I laughed, speechless and turned to see Mr. Oldham and Suzanne watching my obvious embarrassment. As I told them later, "Doctor Koskowski told the Colonel that I had volunteered to prepare Curtis for his initiation into C.M.A."
"But you didn't?" Suzanne asked, knowingly.
"I volunteered to help him get ready for football. That's entirely different from preparing him to enter C.M.A." I said, disgusted with myself for being taken advantage of by Doctor Koskowski.
"What gave her the idea that you would help Curtis prepare for C.M.A.?" Mr. Oldham asked.
"Curtis heard how I worked with Josh Ford the summer before he entered C.M.A. It's a matter of hero envy," I said, remembering how we had let Curtis play catch with us the summer before Josh was going to be a junior and wanted to play quarterback.
Mr. Oldham and Suzanne warned me that I wasn't going to have very much time to devote to Curtis, and Suzanne lectured me about letting pushy females take advantage of me. I got the message; by using the plural, females, she was spreading a wider net than casting the single line to hook Doctor Koskowski's fishy maneuver.
"Thanks, Suz, I get your point," I said.
They left for the office and I went to my room to get ready for Curtis's first training session. When we met at nine A.M., I gave him the rules I expected him to follow.
"What this?" he asked, looking at the single sheet of paper.
"Can you read? Respond to the first rule."
He looked at the paper. "Yes Sir."
"Read the second rule and do as it says."
He read the second rule and began running in place.
"During your first night at the Academy you will be in a room with one other freshman. It's okay to cry. Do you understand?"
"Yes Sir."
"The next night you will be joined by two sophomores in the room. You will address them as 'Sir' and they will humiliate you until you cry. Do you understand?"
"Yes Sir."
"The two sophomores will teach you how to make your bed, how to stand at attention and how to sit when you are in class, eating in the cafeteria or while you're studying. Do you understand?"
"Yes Sir."
"The next night you will be joined by two juniors. You will address them as 'Sir' and they will inspect your bed, your lockers and your shoes. Do you understand?"
"Yes Sir."
"The next night you will be joined by two seniors. You will address them as 'Sir' and one of them will identify himself as the room leader. He will assign one of the juniors to be your tutor. You will get to know your seven roommates better than you know your parents. They will root for your success and rue your failings. You'll compete against all other freshmen, all other rooms and all other companies. Do you understand?"
"Yes Sir."
"C.M.A. is a football school. Football teaches teamwork and discipline. While on the football field you will run in place and pay attention to what the coaches tell you. Do you understand?"
"Yes Sir."
"If you do well you will be promoted. If you do poorly, you will be punished. Do you understand?"
"Yes Sir."
Curtis was doing remarkably well. He knew what to expect from watching Josh and me interact the summer we worked out together. Josh had done well, running neck and neck with Eddie Maize until their senior year when Josh was the starting quarterback, but Eddie was the student commander. Watching Curtis respond to my commands that day, I predicted that he would finish first or second in his class. We ended the session with a two mile run.
"We'll meet tomorrow and Saturday and then you're on your own for awhile," I said as we parted. Curtis looked perplexed, but didn't voice his concern. I took that as a good sign.
"Yes Sir," he said. I watched him trudge toward his home and could see that he was beat from running in place for two hours.
Later that afternoon I was working on my answer to Kelley's journal by a telephone call from Jeannie Baldwin.
"Does your girlfriend give you time off for good behavior?" she asked.
"She gives me time off for bad behavior," I laughed.
"Do you have time to take me to a movie?"
"Does that mean what I think it means?"
"Yes. I'm dying to see you."
"I'll pick you up at seven-thirty," I offered and heard her reply, saying that she would be ready to go.
As I turned my attention to the answer to Kelley's journal I considered how much I was going to enjoy a female's company for a change. I was looking forward to taking Jeanie to the ice cream shop.
Mr. Oldham and Suzanne were surprised when I showed up for dinner, clean shaven and wearing a long sleeved white shirt, buttoned to the collar, with loafers and tan slacks.
"Did she call?" Suzanne asked.
"No."
She looked at Mr. Oldham. "He's being obstinate."
"No, I'm not," I protested. "You didn't ask the right question. I'm taking Jeannie Baldwin for ice cream."
"You and those Baldwin sisters, Jeannie's the youngest one, isn't she?"
"Yes," I said, knowing full well that Suzanne knew that Jeannie was younger than Jessica and Cindy.
I wanted to change the subject and told them about the training session I'd put Curtis through.
"His mother expects too much of you. Next time she asks you to do something for her kids, just say no," Suzanne said, sounding emphatic.
"I told Curtis we will meet tomorrow and Saturday and then he's on his own."
"Good," Suzanne and Mr. Oldham said in unison.
Somehow, we managed to get through dinner without further mention of Kelley, Doctor Koskowski or the Baldwin sisters. Suzanne informed me that we were going to the club for dinner the following night. This was disturbing news; what if Kelley was there with her parents and gave me the cold shoulder? I guess Mr. Oldham could see the concern in my eyes because when it was time for me to leave, he walked out to the garage with me.
"You're taking this breakup with the Harvey girl too hard, son. If you're serious about her, go after her. Otherwise, get out of your room and have some fun."
He patted me on the shoulder. "You're too young to develop worry lines," he said, sounding concerned.
It wasn't often that Mr. Oldham gave me advice, but when he did, it was well intentioned and I listened. I thanked him and we parted.
'Damn, ' I thought on the way to pick up Jeannie. 'It's not as simple as he makes it sound. I'm in love with Kelley and she's in love with me.' As I walked to the front door of the Baldwin home I began to hope that I would see Kelley dining with her parents the following night.
Mrs. Baldwin greeted me warmly. "We seldom see you any more, Sammy. You know you're welcome here any time, even if the girls aren't home."
"Thank you, Mrs. Baldwin. I'll remember that."
Mr. Baldwin got out of his easy chair and shook my hand, mumbling something about how nice it was to see me.
Jeannie appeared, wearing jeans and a light sweater. Both garments were stretched tight, making me wish she wasn't practically engaged to Josh. She told her parents that she would be home early and we left.
"Could you tell what was going through my dad's mind?" she asked as she got into the car. I closed the door and quickly walked to the driver's door so I could find out what she was asking.
"I have no idea what your dad was thinking."
"I'm sure you do. You just don't want to say," Jeannie said in a teasing tone.
"How could I possibly know?" I asked as I stared the car and put the transmission in gear.
Jeannie was taking longer than necessary to fasten her seatbelt. "He probably looks at you and thinks, 'Sammy Oldham slept with all three of my daughters'."
I was totally unprepared for her observation. "He doesn't know that for certain."
"He knows that you took my virginity and he knows that you and Cindy fucked like rabbits. He probably surmises that you got into Jessica's panties, too."
"That was a long time ago," I said, dismissively, not caring what Mr. Baldwin knew or didn't know.
"I've been hearing about you and Kelley. Did she really come to see you every other week?"
"Where did you hear that?"
"I saw Marcie at a party and then we talked on the phone a few times. She says you're head over heels in love."
"Marcie has a big mouth."
Jeannie laughed and unknowingly spared me from having to tell her that I hadn't heard from Kelley since last Friday when she demanded that I take her to the airport.
We got a table at the rear of the ice cream shop and I let Jeannie do most of the talking. She was dreading having to attend Cindy's wedding because Josh couldn't be there. She didn't mention that I had been left off the guest list and I didn't inquire as to the reason.
"You must come to Boston sometime and see our apartment. It's on the third floor in a dilapidated house. Josh and Eddie are painting the ceilings and walls, but the floors are dingy and the plumbing makes strange sounds when you flush the toilet. We don't know if the heat works."
Jeannie had been smiling while telling me about the apartment. "It's all we can afford," she added.
I pulled my summer schedule out of my pocket. "I'll be there July sixth until the tenth. Our office is on the outskirts of the city, but I may be able to stop by and see your apartment."
"That will be wonderful!" she exclaimed. "We don't have a telephone yet, but I'll send you the number as soon as we get one."
It was great to see her excitement about setting up housekeeping with her friends. I could tell that she was anxious to get back and help ready the apartment. She did, however, have one concern.
"I'll graduate a year before the kids and I know my parents will want me to come home and get a job. That's the disadvantage of falling for someone younger than you."
"You're worried about two years from now, but if you feel the same way about Josh I would advise you to stay with your guy. We have a situation like that in our little group. Laura graduated in May and Skip has another year at Pontiac. They're both concerned about being separated next year."
She brightened. "Josh will be happy to hear what you said."
Moviegoers began to arrive, signaling it was time for us to vacate the ice cream shop.
"When is Cindy's wedding?" I asked.
"Sunday, the twenty-third of June, I'm sorry that you're not going to be there."
"I'll be in Denver the following week," I said, wondering if Kelley would go with me to Denver as planned.
"I'm so glad we were able to have this talk," Jeannie said on the way to her front door.
"I'm glad we could get together," I said, leaning in to touch her lips. Our goodnight kiss was brief. She held my hands and looked into my eyes as she pulled away, saying, "I meant what I said about Cindy's wedding."
I could tell that Curtis was feeling the effects of yesterday's workout. He didn't complain though, and answered 'Yes Sir' and 'No Sir' to my questions while running in place. I gave him a list of items he would need for school and told him I would give him my pads. We knocked off early and after telling him I would see him the next day, I retired to my room to continue my answer to what Kelley had written in her journal.
When the mail arrived, I took a break and read a note from Hilda Honeycutt Hegg. I wrote a short reply, saying that I was going to be in Newark from the third of August until the seventh and suggested that I could come over to the city one night for dinner if she liked.
After a frustrating day of writing and rewriting my answer to Kelley, I was happy to get ready to go to the club for dinner with Mr. Oldham and Suzanne. I'm not sure if I was relieved or dejected to discover that the Harveys were not there. Suzanne did, however, introduce me to everyone else that happened by our table, whether we had met previously or not.
Since this was going to be our last workout together for a while, I participated. We ran in place, recited the rules, did push-ups, sit-ups and walked like a duck. At the end of two hours, after we had finished our run, we said goodbye and I went back to my room, feeling exhilarated and in need of a shower.
There were two messages on my answering machine.
"Sammy, you gave Curtis a list of items he'll need for school. Will you please go with him to shop for the items? You're a dear. Thanks you."
I called the Koskowski-Jones home before listening to the other message. Doctor Koskowski answered.
"Let me speak to Mr. Jones, please."
"Sammy is something wrong?" she asked.
"Yes, it's time your husband took some responsibility in raising his son. I'm doing my part. Percy can take Curtis shopping."
"I don't like the sound of hostilities I'm hearing in your voice, young man."
"Are you going to tell your husband to take your son shopping or do you want me to speak to him?"
"You sound upset, Sammy."
I hung up and pushed the button to listen to the second message.
"Sammy? Do you have the key to the condo you took me to once? Please call me."
I played the message again, listening carefully and I played it in my mind while showering. "Sammy?" had sounded more like "Sammie."
After getting out of the shower, I opened Kelley's journal and read again before returning her call.
She didn't apologize for becoming enraged at me and I didn't try to explain why I had left Tammy off of my list. We made plans to go to the condo that night to 'talk'.
"I've missed you," she said.
"I've missed you, too."
We said goodbye and I was still contemplating what we would 'talk' about that night when my telephone rang.
"He just left," Marcie began. She went on to say that Adam Corning's visit had been a success. He had impressed her parents at lunch, and later they had taken a long walk, almost to 'our rock'.
"I'm not ready to share that experience with him," she said. "Anyway, I'm not sure he would want to."
"Believe me, Honey. He'd be crazy not to," I assured her and listened to her purr.
She was so gushy about Adam Corning that I didn't even try to tell her that I had successfully opened Kelley's journal or that we were getting together that night.
"My sweet Sammy, thanks for listening to me," she said before hanging up.
I was happy for her. Why hadn't I thought of Adam Corning as a match for her?
Mr. Oldham and Suzanne seemed happy that Kelley had called and wanted to see me. I dressed carefully and went to pick her up. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey seemed happy that we were back together, too.
Kelley jumped into my arms and kissed me as soon as we were in the car. "See what I got," she said, holding up her left hand to show me a wide, silver wedding band on her ring finger. "This is for Denver and Seattle when we check into the room together. Repeat after me; my wife retained her maiden name for business reasons."
"My wife retained her maiden name for business reasons."
We grinned at each other like we had put something over on the hotel desk clerk. She moved to the passenger seat and I started the car. "Have you been busy?" she asked.
"Very," I said.
"Did you think of me?"
"Yes, I did. Tell me something; what happened to Phyllis? Do you stay in touch?"
A shocked look came to her face, and then she exploded. "YOU READ MY JOURNAL. TAKE ME HOME THIS INSTANT!"
I turned the car around and delivered her to her door.