Chapter 4

We had a week off before school started back. I picked up my bus from the school bus garage and was given my route. As soon as I saw the bus number, I knew I had hit a home run, #109, Katie’s bus. Katie and I studied together almost every evening at her house or mine, staying to eat dinner with the family. Dating was Friday and Saturday nights only. The rest of the week, we kept our hands, and other body parts to ourselves, which was very hard to do. Mom was the first to notice that something was different. I was actually doing my homework. I helped Katie with her math, and she tried to teach me how to read. She went to the library in town and found me several books she thought I would enjoy. One was a small paperback Navy comedy. It took me three months to read it, and she kept going in and re-checking it out to save me the embarrassment, but I finally read my first book six years before I had done it in my first life. To keep me up to speed in my other classes, she often read my assignments to me. If I could hear them, I would memorize them, and my first report card reflected our hard work. Katie and I both had straight As, which was normal for her. Christmas came and with it, work in the cotton mill. With people wanting to take time off to be with their families, I was able to work double shifts six days a week. I did it again over Easter and started working full-time as soon as we were out for the summer. I was able to pay my father back with my Christmas check. The rest of my checks went into my car fund. By Easter, I bought a 1963 powder blue VW Bug, not the muscle car that I had originally wanted. It was better on gas, safer, and only cost me $350. That way I could save the money for college and for an investment fund I wanted to start. I wasn’t a financial genius the first time around, but I knew what companies dominated the market over time. Apple, Intel, Amazon, Home Depot, Microsoft, and of course, Walmart, to name a few. If I could buy in when the stock was first offered, I would be wealthy beyond my wildest dreams, and Katie and I could live a comfortable life. Mom and Dad noticed the change in me. Sunday, after the family lunch, my parents caught me reading the Wall Street Journal. Dad sat down across from me in the living room and said, “Okay, give. Who are you and what have you done with my son?”

I folded up the paper, noting where I had stopped reading, and looked at him. “Dad, I had a lot of time to think while we were in Europe and decided it was time for me to grow up. It’s not going to be long before I’m out on my own, and I have to plan for the future. One of these days, after school, of course, I’m going to marry Katie, and I need to be able to support her and give her a good life. I decided play time was over, and it was time to get down to business.” The stunned silence was deafening.

“Your mother is never going to buy that, but I see the truth in your eyes. In the past three months, you have matured from a boy to a young man. If there is anything I can do to help, just name it. I’m proud of you. By the way, I really like Katie.” He got up, patted my shoulder, and left the room so I could get back to my paper.

Katie and I decided that Saturdays would be our time, and Sundays would be family time. The rest of the week, we studied or worked. One day, Katie commented on my muscular legs, and I told her how I loved to hike in the mountains. She said she needed to get in better shape and wanted to join me. The next day I took her to the little military surplus store in town, where I bought her a small backpack, a plastic rain slicker, four pairs of boot socks, a pair of Vietnam-style jungle boots to fit her small feet, and a pair of cargo shorts to fit her cute backside, and the next Saturday, we were off to the mountains. The first trail I had her hike was only about five miles, but it was a difficult hike for a beginner. The good part of this trail is the halfway point. The trail crossed a beautiful mountain stream and just uphill from the crossing was a clear pool fed by a waterfall. She was really huffing and puffing when we got there, but one sight of the cool water, her clothes started coming off. She had a surprise for me. She had shaved and was now as slick as I was. I didn’t need a written invitation, I dropped between her legs and said, “Lunch is served,” and did a nose dive. It was a nice two-hour break and we were two very happy hikers when I brought her home. This, too, became a routine, and every Saturday that it was not raining cats and dogs, we went hiking in the mountains. I could see the results on Katie very quickly. Her legs toned up and her little backside became hard as a rock. You could crush walnuts between those cheeks. After about six weeks, when I went to pick her up to go hiking, her dad came out with her. He had his normal mechanic’s blue work pants and shirt on, and he was wearing his boots as normal. “I’m going with you two today”, he said, leaving no room for objections or negotiation. He climbed into the passenger seat of my bug and Katie climbed into the back, and off to the mountains we went.

About an hour from the house, I pulled over to a parking area at a trailhead and opened the trunk on the front of the bug. I lifted out our backpacks containing water bottles, rain slickers, trail snacks, and extra socks, and picked up our hiking sticks. “Which trail should we take today, Katie?”

“We should stick to the short easy trail. I don’t think Daddy is ready for the longer ones yet,” and with that, we were off. We did stop at our little waterfall and pool, but we only filled our water bottles and kept walking. I could tell her dad was really suffering, while Katie and I had not yet broken a good sweat.

When we got back to the car, her dad bringing up the rear by a good 50 yards, he came to a stop, leaning against the top, and said, “Okay, you convinced me.”

“Convinced you of what, Daddy?” Katie asked.

“Convinced me that you two really are going hiking every Saturday. I thought you two were just slipping away for a little hanky-panky. That’s why I volunteered to go with you.”

“You are welcome to go with us every Saturday, Sir,” I told him. “But our normal 10-mile trail is a lot harder than this little one. It goes over that ridge up there,” pointing to the top of the next mountain.

He muttered, “Never again,” as he bent his knotted-up leg muscles to get back into my bug. It was fun to invite him to come along every Saturday morning. Katie told me that he complained about his sore legs and wanted a massage from her mother every night for two weeks after our hike. Katie and I did hike the 10-mile trail over the peak most Saturdays. There were two nice little pools and a waterfall on that one. Before I graduated, I saw my first target stock, McDonald’s, but I wasn’t yet 18, so I called in that little favor my dad offered me. I convinced him to take me to see a stockbroker and co-sign for me to open an account. I didn’t want to put everything in one stock, so I only invested $1000. On the way out, Dad asked me why, and I told him that this was a long-term investment. One day soon, McDonald’s is going to be the largest fast food franchise in the world. There were other stocks that I was interested in purchasing, but they weren’t ready yet. I also cautioned him not to sell this stock. I told him the broker would be calling him within weeks, recommending that he sell, because it went down ten cents, and it was the broker’s job to try to convince us to sell this stock and buy another of his choosing. The broker gets a share every time we buy or sell, so he really doesn’t care if we make money or not, as long as he does. The broker waited three weeks to make the call to Dad, but my dad told him that this was his son’s account and that his son would make his own decisions. The broker never called Dad again.

Graduation came, and I was now in the top 10 percent of the class. My genius lady graduated #1 and was asked to make the graduation speech, but she declined. She had only missed two days of high school, and both of those days were when she was to give an oral book report in front of her class. She had called in sick both days because she was throwing up with fear. I got a partial scholarship and Katie got a total academic scholarship to the state university. Our parents decided that our graduation parties would be together. It was the normal family thing with lots of photos in our caps and gowns, balloons, cake, and ice cream. It was kind of lame when compared to some of the things our friends were going to do, but it was family, and family get-togethers were allowed to be a little lame. We were led outside for our graduation gift. Our fathers had worked together and gave me a pickup truck to take to college. It was a 1953 Chev 5 windowed pickup. Katie’s dad had bought it for us and had been working on it for several months in the little shop out back. From the outside, it didn’t look like much, with at least five different colors of primer paint. Our dads looked so proud of themselves. Katie’s dad said, “When you get back from your graduation trip, decide what color you want her and we’ll paint her.” I opened the door and the inside looked very nice. All original, except for the pure leather seats. I climbed behind the wheel and they handed me the key. Katie’s dad blew me away when he said, “Go ahead son, fire her up.” He actually called me son.